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PACIFIC  RAILROAD. 


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IPIROOEIEIDIlSrGr-S 


OF  A 

CONVENTION 


HELD    AT 


EAST  SAGINAW,  MICHIGAN, 


23d  and  24th  November,   1869. 

TO  CONSIDER  THE  QUESTION  OF 

THE  SHORTEST  AND  MOST-FEASIBLE    ROUTE,  AND   THE 
BEST  MEANS  FOR  PROMOTING  THE  CONSTRUCTION 
OF  THE  NORTHERN  PACIFIC  RAILROAD. 


~  fo  f  EAST  SAGINAW  :  \    QY- 

X  Daily    Enterprise    Office  qV- 


1869. 


EDWAItD  W.  NOLAN 


NOR.THEEN 

PACIFIC  RAILROAD. 


FE.ooBEiDii^ra-s 


OF  A 


CONVENTION 


HELD  AT 


EAST  SAGINAW,  MICHIGAN, 


ON  THE 


23d  and  24th  November,   1869. 


.'O  CONSIDER  THE  QUESTION  OF 


THE  SHORTEST  AND  MOST    FEASIBLE    ROUTE,  AND   THE 
BEST  MEANS  FOR  PROMOTING  THE  CONSTRUCTION 
OF  THE  NORTHERN  PACIFIC  RAILROAD. 


EAST  SAGINAW: 
Daily   Enterprise   Office 

1869. 


v  #£279/ 

B3 


A  Call  for   a   Northern  Pacific  and  Micrrgan  Short 

Line  Rail  Road  Convention,  at  East  Saginaw, 

Michigan,    November    23d,    1869. 


The  undersigned  committee,  appointed  by  the  Common  Council  of 
East  Saginaw  to  issue  the  call  and  make  arrangements  for  a  conven- 
tion to  be  held  in  this  city  on  the  23d  day  of  November,  1869,  at  2 
o'clock  P.  M. ,  respectfully  and  urgently  request  all  municipal  and  other 
corporate  bodies  on  the  contemplated  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail-, 
road,  from  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  via  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  to 
the  Atlantic,  to  send  delegates  to  said  convention. 

And  it  is  earnestly  hoped  that  Boards  of  Trade,  City  Councils,  county 
and  township  authorities,  railroad  corporations,  and  other  bodies 
throughout  the  State  of  Michigan,  will  be  fully  represented ;  and  that 
the  States  of  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  Massachusetts,  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
Vermont,  and  the  Province  of  Canada,  will  send  delegates,  especially 
from  the  Western  States  named,  and  from  along  the  line  of  the  route 
recently  adopted  by  the  Trans-Continental  Railroad  Convention  at 


The  following  are  among  the  important  questions  to  be  submitted  for 
the  consideration  of  the  convention : 

1st.  Is  there  any  necessity  for  more  railroads  across  the  continent  V 
If  so,  what  routes  should  be  adopted  ? 

2d.  Is  there  any  advantage  to  be  secured  to  the  Northern  Pacific 
road  by  reason  of  its  reaching  water  communication  sixteen  hundred 
miles  from  the  Atlantic,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior  ? 

3d.  Comparative  cost  of  transportation  by  rail  and  by  water ;  time 
being  considered  money. 

4th.  Puget  Sound  as  a  western  and  Portland  as  an  eastern  terminus 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad. 

5th.  The  route  by  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw  ;  is  it  the  shortest  and 
most  practicable  ?  Will  it  open  and  develop  a  region  of  country  rich 
in  soil,  timber  and  minerals,  and  by  reason  of  which,  will  it  secure  a 
vast  amount  of  local  trafiic  ? 

6th.  Do  the  Central  and  Union  Pacific  Railroads  supply  such  advan- 
tages to  the  country  as  to  render  it  inexpedient  for  the  Government  to 
encourage  the  building  of  a  Northern  and  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  ? 

7th.  Should  the  Government,  in  the  present  state  of  its  finances, 
make  further  grants  to  railroads  ? 

8th.  The  character  of  the  country  on  the  line  of  the  Northern 
Pacific. 


NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


9th  The  valleys  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  aiid  the  Red  River  of  the 
North. 

10th.  The  western  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  harbor  of 
Puget  Sound. 

llth.    The  shortest  line  between  China  and  Europe. 

12th.  The  railroads  of  the  United  States ;  do  they  tend  to  settle, 
develop  and  enrich  the  country  P 

13th.  Would  the  granting  of  subsidies  to  two  more  Pacific  railroads 
retar  1  or  expedite  the  liquidation  of  the  national  debt  ? 

14th.  The  railroads  of  Michigan  as  the  shortest  connecting  links 
between  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroads  and  the  roads  from  the  East 
and  South 

15th.  The  duty  of  the  Government  in  reference  to  the  future  disposi- 
tion of  the  public  domain. 

16th.  The  present  and  prospective  value  of  the  agricultural,  mineral, 
saline  and  lumber  products  of  Northern  Michigan 

17th.    The  future  of  the  Northwest. 

It  may  be  observed  that  the  title  given  to  this  convention,  at  the  head 
of  this  call,  implies  that  its  object  is  local  and  not  national  in  charac- 
ter. To  this  we  may  reply  that  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  thought 
to  be  a  great  national  trans-continental  line,  is  nevertheless  local,  so 
far  as  its  route  and  termini  are  concerned,  and  it  has  been  observed  that 
the  Trans-Continental  Railroad  Convention,  recently  held  at  Oswego, 
N.  Y ,  was  called  with  the  express  object  of  building  an  air  line  fropi 
Portland,  via  Oswego,  Lewiston  and  the  Detroit  or  St.  Clair  rivers,  to 
Chicago,  there  to  meet  the  Union  and  Northern  Pacific  Railroads ;  and, 
though  that  convention  approved  of  the  line  to  Chicago,  it  also  ap- 
proved of  continuing  the  Northern  Pacific  from  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior,  east,  via  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw  and  the  Detroit  or  St.  Clair 
rivers. 

This  convention,  then,  cannot  be  considered  any  more  local  than  the 
one  at  Oswego ;  though  its  chief  objects  shall  be  the  building  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  through  Michigan,  across  the  Straits,  to 
connect  in  the  Lower  Peninsula  with  all  roads  running  east  and 
south. 

We  are  free  to  admit  that,  in  view  of  her  seven  hundred  miles  of 
undeveloped  territory,  over  which  such  a  route  would  pass,  the  richness 
of  her  soil,  the  amount  of  valuable  timber,  her  sixty  thousand  inhab- 
itants in  the  Upper  Peninsula  engaged  in  developing  her  vast  deposits 
of  copper  and  iron,  and  who  have  no  outlet  except  by  water,  and  on 
account  of  her  saline  and  other  comparatively  undeveloped  elements  of 
wealth,  Michigan,  perhaps,  has  a  more  vital  interest  in  the  object  of  the 
convention  than  any  other  single  State. 

But  while  this  may  be  true,  it  is  equally  true  that  all  the  States 
named  in  the  call  are  more  interested  in  this  than  in  any  other  route. 
This  is  made  evident  by  a  glance  at  the  map,  where  it  will  be  seen  that 
this  line  will  open  up  the  northern  part  of  Wisconsin,  and  afford  a 
competing  railroad  outlet  east,  other  than  by  Chicago,  for  wheat  and 
other  products  of  Iowa  and  Minnesota. 

It  will  also  appear  evident  that,  should  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad 
adopt  no  other  line  to  the  east  than  around  the  south  end  of  Lake 
Michigan,  (which  is  on  the  line  of  the  Union  Pacific,)  its  traffic  would 
naturally  drift  to  the  South,  and  New  York  and  all  the  New  England 
States  would  be  injured,  and  New  Jersey  to  some  extent,  thereby.  It 
is  not  the  object  of  the  convention  to  oppose  connections  between  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  and  Chicago,  but  to  secure  a  route  also  by 
the  Straits,  and  thus  to  guarantee  to  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States 
what  the  Government  intended  by  its  grant  of  land — a  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad,  to  run  as  far  as  possible  through  the  undeveloped  portions  of 
the  States  and  Territories. 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION. 


By  this  route,  and  the  connections  with  Chicago,  all  railroads  run- 
ning south  and  east,  and  all  the  States  on  the  Atlantic,  would  receive 
their  just  share  and  interest  in  a  trans-continental  raiload  built  by  the 
liberality  of  their  Government  and  the  energy  of  its  citizens. 

To  secure  these  objects,  and  to  discuss  the  subjects  embraced  in  this 
circular,  the  convention  is  called,  and  we  «,gain  earnestly  invite  the 
presence  of  delegates  and  of  all  interested  citizens  from  every  quarter. 

The  undersigned  also  respectfully  request  all  newspapers  friendly  to 
the  objects  of  this  convention  to  publish  the  call  for  the  same.  It  was 
the  intention  to  have  the  call  signed  by  many  leading  citizens  In  this 
and  other  localities  who  approve  of  the  convention,  but  the  shortness 
of  time,  and  the  necessity  for  an  early  and  extended  notice,  induces  the 
committee  to  publish  the  call  with  their  names  alone  attached. 

And  acting  as  we  do,  in  harmony  and  in  accordance  with  the  desire 
of  all  favorably  interested,  we  trust  that  the  importance  of  the  conven- 
tion will  not  be  diminished,  or  an  interest  in  the  same  weakened,  on 
account  of  the  call  not  being  more  numerously  signed. 

Hoping  that  the  response  of  delegates  may  be  equal  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  subject,  we  are,  with  high  consideration, 

JAMES  L.  KETCHAM,  Mayor  of  East  Saginaw, 
C.  K.  ROBINSON,  WM.  J.  BARTOW, 

JOS.  A.  HOLLON,  JEREMIAH  FISHER, 

GEO.    W.    PECK,  JOHN  P.  DRIGGS. 

*       GEORGE  W.  PECK,  Secretary. 


PKOCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONVENTION. 


FIBST    JDJ^IT. 


Pursuant  to  the  preceding  call,  a  Convention  of  Delegates  as- 
sembled at  Irving  Hall,  in  the  City  of  East  Saginaw,  at  2  o'clock, 
P.  M.,  on  Tuesday,  November  23d,  1869. 

The  rear  of  the  platform  of  the  hall  was  covered  by  an  immense 
map,  exhibiting  on  a  large  scale  the  route,  etc.,  etc.  It  was  pre- 
pared by  Messrs.  Goddard,  Kirby,  Herbert  and  Eastman,  and 
proved  of  great  value  in  the  deliberations,  etc. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  by  Hon.  Geo.  W.  Peck,  and 
organized  by  appointing  Hon.  John  F.  Driggs  of  East  Saginaw, 
temporary  President,  and  F.  H.  Rankin,  of  Flint,  temporary 
Secretary. 

Mr.  Driggs,  on  assuming  the  chair,  addressed  the  Convention  as 

follows : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : 

I  only  express  the  sentiments  of  all  the  citizens  of  this  valley, 
when  I  extend  to  you  a  cordial  and  kind  welcome  to  this  locality, 
and  I  know  I  express  the  regrets  of  our  whole  community  that  an 
unforeseen  and  severe  storm  has  probably  prevented  the  attendance 
of  many  delegates  from  distant  points.  "We  are,  however,  very 
much  gratified,  notwithstanding  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  to 
see  so  many  intelligent  gentlemen  present.  I  accept  the  posi- 
tion of  temporary  Chairman  of  this  Convention,  and  would  sug- 
gest the  appointment  of  a  Committee  on  Credentials  and  Per- 
manent Organization,  to  report  as  early  as  our  evening  session. 


8  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


While  waiting  your  further  pleasure,  T  would  say  that  I 
feel,  gentlemen,  as  though  this  is  not  an  East  Saginaw,  or  a 
Bay  City,  or  a  Saginaw  City,  or  in  fact,  a  Convention  that  has 
reference  to  any  particular  locality  in  this  vicinity,  but  that  is  a 
great  national  project ;  one  which,  however,  if  carried  out,  will 
benefit  certain  localities  on  the  line  of  this  great  national  railway. 

We  have  received  letters  from  many  distinguished  gentlemen 
from  different  parts  of  the  country,  which  may  be  read  by  the 
Secretary  for  your  information. 

We  had  hoped  that  we  should  secure  the  attendance  of  the  dele- 
gation from  our  own  State  in  Congress,  as  we  look  for  aid  from  that 
quarter  to  help  us  build  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  especi- 
ally from  the  head  of  the  lake  down  through  Northern  Michigan, 
and  on  further  East,  so  as  to  connect  with  other  contemplated 
lines. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  for  want  of  time  we  were  obliged  to  de- 
fer the  Convention  so  late  as  to  bring  us  into  quite  a  severe  begin- 
ning of  jwinter ;  at  the  same  time  could  not  call  it  earlier  for 
want  of  time  after  the  project  was  once  thought  of,  to  spread  the 
invitations  sufficiently  wide. 

£  You  will  permit  me  one  suggestion  :  At  the  Convention  that  I 
recently  had  the  honor  to  attend  at  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  the  Convention 
was  opened  and  closed  withjprayer.  Whatever  may  be  our  indi- 
vidual opinion|in  regard  to  this,  it  is  a  respect  that  we  owe  to  the 
sentiment  of  the  community  at  large,  and  in  accordance  with  a 
time-honored  custom.  At  the  request  of  a  large  number  of  dele- 
gates present,  I  will  invite  Dr.  McCarty  to  open  the  Convention 
with4  prayer. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  McCarty  thereupon  invoked  the  divine  blessing  on 
the  deliberations  of  the  Convention. 

Hon.  Wm.  Phelps,  of  Detroit,  moved  that  a  Committe  of  five 
be  appointed  to  examine  the  credentials  of  Delegates,  and  report 
the  names  of  those  present  who  are  entitled  to  seats  in  the  Con- 
vention, which  motion  prevailed,  and  the   Chair   appointed  as  the 

COMMITTEE  ON  CREDENTIALS, 

W.  H.  Craig,  of  Detroit,  J.  A.  Hubbell,  of  Houghton,  C.  K. 
Robinson,  of  East  Saginaw,  Hon.  D.  H  Jerome,  of  Saginaw  City, 
and  Hon.  Randolph  Strickland  of  St.  Johns. 

J.  A.  Hubbell,  of  Houghton,  moved  that  a  Committee  of  five 
be  appointed  to  report  the  names  of  Oflicers  for  the  permanent 
organization  of  the  Convention,  which  was  carried,  and  the  Chair 
appointed  as  the 

COMMITTEE  ON  PERMANENT  ORGANIZATION, 

Hon.   Wm.   Phelps,  of  Detroit,  H.  M.   Fitzhugh,  of  Bay  City, 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION. 


Hod.  Eugene  Pringle,  of  JacksoD,  Artemas  Thayer,  of  FliDt,  aDd 
G.  Morton,  of  Monroe. 

The  Chair  announced  that  a  number  of  letters  and  telegrams 
relating  to  the  object  of  the  ConventioD  had  been  received  from 
prominent  gentlemen  who  were  unable  to  attend  in  person ;  and 
with  the  permission  of  the  meeting  they  should  be  read  while  the 
Convention  was  awaiting  the  reports  of  its  Committees  just  ap- 
pointed.    The  Secretary  accordingly  read  the  following : 


telegram  from  the  mayor  of  grand  haven. 

Grand  Haven,  Nov.  23,  1869. 
To  Hon.  James  L.  Ketcham  : 

In  any  settled  plan  adopted  in  your  Convention  relating  to  the 
interest  of  Michigan  and  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  the  city 
of  Grand  Haven  will  concur.  Local  interests  requiring  my  per- 
sonal attention  prevent  my  being  with  you. 

D  WIGHT  CUTLEK,  Mayor. 


LETTER  FROM  THE  MAYOR  OF  OSWEGO,  N.  Y. 

Oswego,  Noy.  18,  1869. 
Hon.  John  F.  Driggs, 

Dear  Sir  : 

I  very  much  regret  being  unable  to  attend 
your  Convention  on  the  23d  inst.  It  is  an  important  Convention 
and  I  wish  you  success. 

I  wish  to  introduce  to  you  Mr.  John  A.  Barry,  Editor  of  the 
Daily  Palladium  of  this  city,  with  whom  I  think  you  became  some- 
what acquainted  when  here  at  our  Convention.  Mr.  Barry  is 
probably  the  only  one  of  our  delegation  able  to  attend.  He  will 
represent  us  in  a  proper  manner,  and  give  a  good  account  of  the 
proceedings  in  his  paper. 

Very  Truly  Yours, 

A.  S.  PAGE. 


letter  from  jay  cooke. 

Philadelphia,  Nov.  19,  1869. 
Hon.  John  F.  Driggs, 

East  Saginaw. 

Your  favor  of  15th  inst  is  received.  I  must 
answer  the  questions  proposed  in  your  call  very  briefly,  if  at  all. 
These  questions  number  seventeen.    I  will  take  them  in  their  order: 


10  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


1st.  Iii  my  opinion  there  is  immediate  necessity  for  more  rail- 
roads across  the  continent.  Two,  at  least;  the  Northern  and 
Southern  roads,  should  be  begun  at  once  and  completed  within 
three  or  four  years.  Jf  our  Government  expects  th«  fealty  of  these 
vast  regions,  it  should  bind  them  to  the  East,  and  make  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  territories  and  the  Pacific  States  feel  that  they  are 
a  part  of  the  United  States,  practically  as  well  as  in  name. 

2d.  I  think  the  Northern  Pacific  Road  secures  a  vast  advan- 
tage by  reaching  water  communication,  which  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior,  is  as  near  the  Atlantic  as  Chicago  is;  but  this  advantage 
is  only  for  a  portion  of  the  year,  and  does  not  apply  to  light 
freights  or  first  class  travel.  It  does  apply,  however,  to  a  vast 
trade  in  grain  and  other  articles,    and  to  emigrant  travel 

3d.  I  do  not  consider  it  worth  while  to  argue  the  comparative 
cost  of  railroad  and  water  transportation.  There  will  be  enough 
for  all  to  do  when  the  vast  regions  to  the  West  and  Northwest  of 
Lake  Superior  are  opened  to  settlement  and  cultivation. 

4th.  If  Canada  belonged  to  us,  we  would  soon  cross  the  Sault 
Ste.  Mary,  skirt  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Huron,  run  down  the 
Ottawa  to  Montreal,  thence  to  Portland,  thus  making  that  city 
with  Puget  Sound;  but  as  Canada  is  not  ours,  and  not 
likely  to  be  soon,  Portland,  as  a  terminus,  is  out  of  the  question, 
and  we  cannot  enter  Canada  at  the  Sault  Ste.  Mary.  The  North- 
ern Pacific,  after  touching  the  lake  at  the  mouth  of  Montreal  river, 
would  seek  the  best  route  to  the  Straits  of  Mackinac.  Crowning 
these,  it  would  seek  an  outlet  by  the  various  roads  centering  at 
Detroit,  Toledo,  etc.  Of  course  the  road  would  send  a  portion  of 
its  business,  via  St.  Paul,  to  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  etc. 

5th.  I  am  satisfied  that,  unless  there  are  insurmountable  diffi- 
culties at  the  Straits  of  Mackinac,  any  railroad  seeking  an  eastern 
outlet  via  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior  and  the  Peninsula 
would  find  it  to  the  advantage  of  the  road  to  take  this  route. 

6th.     I  have  answered  this  in  my  reply  to  the  first  question. 

7th.  I  do  not  think  the  Government  should,  at  present,  make 
direct  grants  of  money  or  bonds  for  any  purpose  except  for  the 
ordinary  river  and  harbor,  and  other  similar  objects,  and  other 
improvements.  But  I  do  think  that  some  plan  should  be  devised 
whereby  these  great  trans-continental  improvements  may  be  at 
once  commenced  and  rapidly  completed,  and  I  am  confident  that 
aid  can  be  given  in  such  form  as  will  not  increase  the  public  debt 
one  dollar,  or  jeopardize  the  interests  of  the  public  treasury,  and 
yet  will  be  all-sufficient  to  secure  the  capital  required.  Should 
such  aid  be  granted,  it  should  only  be  on  condition  that  the  Gov- 
ernment should  hold  a  first  Hen  on  the  road  franchises  lands  and 
rolling  stock.  This  aid  would  be  effectual  if  given  in  the  form  of 
an  endorsement  of  guarantee  of  the  principal  and  interest  of  the 
roads,  and  such  plans  could  be  adopted  as  would  provide  for  the 
interest  from  the  proceeds  of  bonds,  so  that  the  Government  could 
not  possibly  be  called  upon   to  advance  the  funds  for  the  interest 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION.  11 


for  several  years  to  come,  if  at  all,  for  it  may  safely  be  assumed 
that,  when  finished,  these  roads  will  earn  the  full  interest  on  their 
cost  the  first  year. 

8th,  9th  and  10th.  I  send  you  a  report  just  made  by  W.  Mil- 
ner  Roberts.  This  report  I  do  not  desire  published,  as  it  is  not 
yet  made  public,  but  it  must  unmistakably  confirm  all  that  has  been 
.said  heretofore  of  the  glorious  character  of  the  country  along  most 
of  the  route,  and  that  tributary  to  the  Northern  Pacific  lload. 

11th.  The  North  Pacific  route,  via  Puget  Sound,  would  shorten 
the  distance  to  China,  Japan,  etc ,  over  eight  huudred  miles. 

12th.  This  question,  of  course;  is  answered  by  all  in  the  affirm- 
ative. 

13th.  The  national  debt  would  be  liquidated  more  rapidly  by 
these  enterprises  becoming  successful.  The  area  of  taxation  would 
be  greatly  enlarged,  and  all  parts  of  the  nation  would  be  invigor- 
ated and  made  stronger. 

The  remaining  questions  I  must  pass  by,  except  a  brief  reference 
to  the  17th  and  last.  We  who  were  born  in  the  West,  and  have 
seen  the  wondrous  progress  of  the  last  40  years,  cannot  be  too  san- 
guine in  our  anticipations  of  the  future  glory  of  the  North- West. 
I  dare  not  trust  my  pen  to  foretell  the  future,  as  I  expect  to  see  it, 
should  I  live  twenty  years  longer. 

I  regret  that  I  have  not  time  to  do  justice  to  the  whole  subject 
as  contained  in  your  questions;  I  hope  the  Convention  will  do 
what  it  can  to  influence  Congress  to  grapple  with  the  vital  subject, 
and  to  enact  such  laws  es  will,  while  protecting  the  Government  to 
the  uttermost  and  not  increasing  the  public  debt,  yet  give  effective 
and  prompt  aid  to  these  enterprises. 

Sincerely  Yours, 

JAY  COOKE. 


LETTERS     FROM    SENATOR    HOWARD. 

Detroit,  Nov.  7,  1869. 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  am  very  glad  to  see  the  ca'l  for  a  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad  Convention,  to  be  held  at  East  Saginaw  on  the 
:23d  inst.  The  time  fixed  is  so  near  the  commencement  of  the  next 
session  of  Congress  that  I  may  be  prevented  from  attending, 
though  I  should  be  right  glad  to  be  on  hand. 

The  series  of  questions  to  be  discussed  are  all  extremely  import- 
ant. One  more  might  be  added,  and  I  think  it  should  be,  viz. : 
What,  if  any,  distance  will  be  saved  in  running  the  road  down  our 
Upper  Peninsula  and  across  the  Straits  of  Mackinac  to. the  East- 
ern m;irkets,  rather  than  from  the  head  of  Lake  Superior  to  Chi- 
cago? There  is  some  dispute  about  this,  and  the  question  ought 
to  be  carefully  and  fully  considered.  My  own  idea  is  that  the 
Mackinac  route  is  considerably  shorter.  It  is  important,  however, 
that  the  thing  should  be  clearly  verified,  and  not  left  to  conjecture. 
Yrou  will  at  once  see  the  importance  of  the  question. 


12  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


I  might  add  another  query — the  practicability  of  running  a  train 
of  cars  across  the  Straits  of  Mackinac;  but,  as  that  is  a  pure  ques- 
tion of  civil  engineering  to  be  determined  by  scientific  men,  I 
would  not  add  it.  Mr.  Johnson,  the  engineer  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R. 
Co.,  has  often  assured  me  that  the  thing  is  entirely  practicable, 
and  I  believe  him.  lie  is  a  very  sensible,  well-instructed  man.  I 
am  looking  with  great  interest  for  his  report  to  his  Company  of 
the  surveys  and  explorations  of  the  Company  the  past  year. 

As  to  a  cash  subsidy  for  this  railroad,  from  Congress,  I  candidly 
think  the  idea  had  better  be  given  up.  If  we  grant  a  subsidy  in 
bonds  or  indorsements  to  one  Company,  we  must  to  another,  and 
the  railroad  (Kansas  Pacific)  on  the  35th  degree  and  the  famous 
Eremont  line  on  the  32d  degree — and  Heaven  knows  what  other 
lines  of  Pacific  railroads — will  assert  their  claims  to  the  like  aid 
from  Government.  The  treasury  can't  stand  this  whole  brood  of 
suckers ;  their  hunger  would  exhaust  a  world  of  subsidies.  And 
this,  you  may  rely,  is  the  feeling.  No  more  cash  subsidies  to  rail- 
roads is,  you  may  take  it  for  granted,  the  sentiment  of  the  people 
and  of  Congress. 

You  remember  the  omnibus  bill  reported  by  a  majority  of  my 
committee  in  the  Senate.  Well,  that  bill  is  as  "  dead  as  a  smelt." 
There  is  no  chance  of  its  passing  whatever.  It  is  dead  and  buried. 
The  N.  P.  R.  R.  was  provided  for  in  that  bill.  I  told  Mr.  Rice, 
Mr.  Canfield,  Mr  Smith,  and  others  interested  in  the  Northern 
Pacific,  that  there  was  no  chance  of  its  passage ;  no,  not  at  all. 

But  the  Northern  Pacific  Company  need  not  despair.  They  have 
their  destinies  in  their  own  hands,  and,  with  careful  management, 
can  build  the  road  and  make  money.  Their  charter  grants  them 
(substantially)  a  strip  of  land  40  miles  wide,  across  the  continent 
from  the  western  boundary  of  Minnesota,  and  20  miles  wide  east 
of  that  line — land  enough  for  an  empire — more  land,  I  believe, 
than  is  embraced  in  the  State  of  New  York — the  most  of  which  is 
rich  and  productive,  covered  with  timber,  full  of  other  resources, 
and  traversed  by  numerous  navigable  streams,  facilities  which,  as 
everybody  knows,  do  not  exist  upon  the  U.  P.  R.  R  ,  the  Central 
P.  R.  R.,  of  California,  the  Kansas  P.  R  R  ,  or  the  railroad  on 
the  32d  degree.  Again,  the  U.  P.  and  the  Central  (forming  one 
line)  pass  over  mountain  ranges  8  000  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  have  to  be  "shedded"  against  snow  slides,  while  there  is 
no  point  where  the  Northern  Pacific  will  pass  a  height  more  than 
3,500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  This  advantage  in  favor  of 
the  Northern  route  is  inestimable. 

As  to  the  obstruction  from  snow  along  the  Northern  line,  the 
testimony  is  conclusive  that  it  will  not  be  greater  than  on  the 
roads  through  New  England  and  Pennsylvania,  The  further  you 
go  West,  on  the  same  parallel  of  latitude,  the  milder  the  tem- 
perature becomes.  This  is  physically  proved  by  years  of  careful 
observation  on  the  part  of  scientific  men  who  have  for  long  years 
wintered  and  summered  in  those  regions.     Why,  Mr.  Flanders,  the 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION.  13 


recent  delegate  from  Washington  Territory,  who  resides  on  lati- 
tude between  46  and  47  in  that  Territory,  told  me,  last  session, 
that  the  peach,  plum,  cherry,  Indian  corn,  and  other  products  of 
the  41st  to  the  42d  degree,  all  grow  and  mature  in  that  climate  as 
finely  as  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  I  don't  foresee  much 
obstruction  from  snow  and  ice  on  that  line — very  little. 

From  Shanghai,  in  China,  to  Chicago,  that  route  will  be  500 
miles  shorter  than  by  way  of  San  Francisco.  What  a  saving  in 
transportation  is  here!  Again,  Puget  Sound,  the  western  terminus 
of  the  road,  is  the  best  harbor  in  the  world.  Any  number  of  ships 
can  take  shelter  there,  no  matter  what  their  draft  of  water.  And, 
with  the  exception  of  San  Francisco,  it  is  the  only  harbor  worthy 
of  the  name  from  San  Diego,  the  southern  extremity  of  California, 
to  Sitka,  in  Alaska. 

But  time  would  fail  me  to  go  into  all  the  considerations  to  show 
the  importance  of  this  route  to  the  Pacific,  and  I  must  close  by 
expressing  the  conviction  that  within  a  few  years  it  will  be  ap- 
parent to  the  whole  world  that  it  is  the  best  route  to  the  Pacific 
and  to  the  East  Indies  across  the  continent. 

The  opinions  which  the  Convention  may  enunciate  will  have  great 
weight,  and  will,  for  good  or  evil,  bear  powerfully  upon  the  pecun- 
iary interests  of  that  Company.  They  should  be  well  considered, 
therefore,  and  founded  upon  firm  data. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  States  more  immediately  inter- 
ested in  this  great  work  are  Northern  States — all  New  England, 
New  York,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Ne- 
braska. The  Territories  of  Dakotah,  Montana,  Idaho,  Washing- 
ton, all  have  a  deep  interest  in  the  enterprise  These  communities 
are  at  least  something  in  the  scale  of  commerce  and  political 
power,  and  their  voice,  in  both  respects,  is  potent. 

Yours  truly, 
Hon.  John  F.  Drigos.  J.  M.  HOWARD. 

Detroit,  Nov.  21,  1869. 

Dear  Sir  :  Your  answer  to  my  former  letter  came  early  to 
hand.  What  I  said  about  cash  subsidies  to  railroads  was  advanced 
simply  as  my  own  opinion  as  to  the  future  action  of  Congress,  not 
as  indicating  what  my  own  vote  would  be  in  a  proper  case.  I  ever 
thought,  and  still  think,  that  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  is  as 
deserving  of  such  a  subsidy  as  any  line  that  has  received  it,  and 
have  labored  hard,  heretofore,  to  secure  it  for  that  road.  If  I  could 
have  my  way  in  the  matter,  I  certainly  should  extend  the  credit  of 
the  Government  to  that  work,  while  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  the 
same  of  any  other  line  that  has  been  recently  projected.  I  mean 
the  lines  named  (with  that  line)  in  the  Senate  "Omnibus  bill"  of 
last  session,  because  I  see  that  the  Northern  route  is  to  be,  one  day. 
the  great  route  to  the  Pacific  and  the  East  Indies,  and  to  give  the 
people  of  this  country  a  decided  advantage  even  of  the  Suez 
Canal. 


14  NORTHERN    PACIFIC. 

You  are,  of  course,  at  liberty  to  make  such  use  of  my  letters  as 
you  think  best. 

I  should  be  very  glad  to  attend  the  Convention,  but  as  my 
children  are  all  from  home,  and  I  am  preparing  to  start  for  Wash- 
ington, I  find  it  extremely  difficult  to  do  so. 

Very  truly  yours, 
Hon.  John  F.  Dbiggs.  J  M.  HOWARD. 


letter  from  governor  baldwin. 

Executive  Office, 
Detroit,  November    22,    1869. 

Hon.  John  F.  Driggs,  East  Saginaw. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  favor  of  Nov.  19,  inviting 
me  to  attend  a  Railroad  Convention  at  East  Saginaw,  on  Tuesday, 
the  23d  inst.  I  should  certainly  endeavor  to  be  with  you  on  that 
occasion  but  for  the  meeting  of  the  various  State  Boards,  at  Lan- 
sing, on  the  morning  of  the  24th,  which  requires  my  presence  at 
the  capital  at  that  time. 

No  other  class  of  public  improvements  has  done  so  much  for  the 
growth,  advancement  and  prosperity  of  the  country  as  the  con- 
struction of  railroads.  I  am  not,  however,  one  of  those  who  advo- 
cate the  building  of  railroads  without  regard  to  the  character  and 
value  of  the  country  from  which  they  are  to  derive  their  support. 

The  natural  advantages  of  Michigan  are  unsurpassed  by  those  of 
any  other  State.  I  have  for  many  years  felt  the  importance  of, 
and  have  advocated  the  construction  of,  a  railroad  through  the 
center  of  the  Lower  Peninsula  to  the  iStraits  of  Mackinac,  with 
east  and  west  branches,  from  the  vicinity  of  Houghton  Lake  to 
the  Grand  Traverse  country  on  the  west,  and  Thunder  Ray  on  the 
east.  Such  a  road  would  traverse  a  country  of  unsurpassed  fertil- 
ity of  soil,  and  covered  with  a  variety  of  timber  of  untold  value. 
Yet  the  very  fact  of  its  being  heavily  timbered  has  thus  far  retard- 
ed such  improvements  in  that  section  of  the  State,  because  of  the 
somewhat  increased  cost  of  construction,  and  of  the  greater  diffi- 
culty in  bringing  immediately  into  a  state  of  cultivation  land  cov- 
ered with  a  heavy  growth  of  wood.  Other  causes  have  also 
operated  to  keep  back  the  construction  of  railroads  in  the  northern 
portion  of  our  State ;   these,  however,  are  now  being  done  away. 

At  the  present  time  railroads  are  being  built  in  almost  every 
portion  of  the  State,  some  of  which  are  stretching  out  their  arms 
towards  the*  north. 

The   southern  portion  of  the  Lower  Peninsula  has,  for  a  long 

time,  had  its  three  great  lines  running  east  and  west — the  Michigan 

Southern,  the   Michigan  Central,  and  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee. 

From  each  of  these  are  lines  diverging  both  north  and  south  to  a 

reater  or  less  extent. 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION.  15 


Without  pretending  to  name  the  many  roads  in  operation,  in 
process  of  construction,  or  projected,  tending  to  the  development 
of  the  State,  there  are  some  great  trunk  lines  partial^  finished, 
in  operation,  and  in  progress  of  completion,  which  have  a  direct 
bearing  upon  the  subject,  to  consider  which  the  Convention  has 
been  specially  called 

The  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette,  with  its  initial  or  starting  point  at 
Holly,  on  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
State,  already  opened  to  Midland  and  to  Bay  City,  and  soou  to  be 
completed  to  Pere  Marquette,  or  some  other  point  on  Lake  Michigan 
— the  Jackson,  Lansing  &  Saginaw  road,  with  its  starting  point  at 
Jackson,  in  the  center,  already  in  operation  to  Saginaw  and  VVenona, 
and  taking  measures  to  continue  its  line  to  Houghton  Lake  and 
beyond — the  Grand  Rapids  &  Indiana  Railroad,  on  the  west,  from 
the  southern  line  of  the  State  at  Sturgis,  already  opened  from 
Grand  Rapids  forty  miles  north,  and  steadily  progressing  towards 
Grand  Traverse  or  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw — these  three  great  and 
most  valuable  lines  of  roads  are  steadily  going  forward. 

From  the  vicinity  of  Houghton  Lake  north  to  the  Straits  of 
Mackinaw  there  should  be  but  one  road.  Could  all  interests  be 
united,  and,  with  this  union  of  strength,  a  single  road  be  construct- 
ed from  Houghton  Lake  to  the  Straits,  with  lateral  branches  to 
Lake  Huron  on  the  east  and  Traverse  Bay  on  the  west,  it  could 
not  fail  to  result  in  the  rapid  development  of  the  northern  part  of 
the  State;  population  would  flow  in  with  a  rapidity  hitherto  un- 
known, enriching  the  State  and  at  the  same  time  furnishing  a  large 
local  traffic  for  the  road. 

So  far  I  have  alluded  to  the  development  of  the  southern  penin- 
sula only,  but  we  should  not  overlook  the  resources  of  the  northern 
peninsula,  rich,  almost  beyond  calculation,  in  its  mineral  wealth  of 
iron  and  copper.  Most  wisely,  in  my  judgment,  the  Constitution 
prohibits  the  State  from  being  interested  in  any  work  of  internal 
improvement,  or  carrying  on  any  such  work,  except  in  the  expendi- 
ture of  grauts  to  the  State  of  lands  or  other  property.  It  is  not 
necessary,  to  secure  the  construction  of  these  roads,  that  the  State 
should  undertake  the  work.  Congress  has  made  large  appriations 
of  lands  for  this  purpose.  These  lands,  already  valuable,  will 
greatly  appreciate  by  the  construction  of  the  roads. 

Our  country  is  yet  in  its  infancy.  Population  is  flowing  to  us. 
from  every  part  of  the  world,  with  wonderful  rapidity.  One  great 
line  of  railway  already  unites  the  Atlantic  with  the  Pacific. 
Another  shorter  and  better  line,  the  Northern  Pacific,  is  also  to  be 
constructed.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  time,  and  no  people  can  be 
more  deeply  interested  in  the  adoption  of  this  line  than'the  citizens 
of  Michigan  It  is  not  necessary  to  oppose  connections  between 
the  Northern  Pacific  road  and  Chicago,  but,  whatever  may  be  its 
connection  with  other  lines  around  the  south  end  of  Lake  Michigan, 
it  should  be  the  policy  of  the  Government  to  make  the  line,  as  far 
as  possible,  through  the  undeveloped  portions  of  the  country,  and 


16  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


especially  so  if  that  country  is,  as  in  this  case,  of  valuable  charac- 
ter and  capable  of  sustaining  a  large  and  dense  population  j  and 
still  further,  when  such  line  would  shorten  the  distance  to  the  large 
manufacturing  States  of  New  England,  and  to  Europe  from  the 
sea-board. 

Every  consideration  would  seem  to  favor  the  construction  of  a 
road  through  Northern  Michigan,  and  making  that  road  a  part  of 
the  line  of  the  great  Northern  Pacific. 

I  trust  that  the  deliberations  of  the  convention  will  tend  to 
hasten  the  construction  of  the  road  through  both  peninsulas  of  our 
noble  commonwealth,  and  to  further  the  undertaking  and  comple- 
tion of  the  great  practical  northern  line  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

Sincerely  regretting  my  inability  to  participate  with  you  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  convention,  I  am, 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

H  P.BALDWIN. 


letter  from  hon.  john  a.  poor. 

Portland,  Nov.  18,  1869. 
Hon.  Jas.  L.  Ketciiam,  Mayor  of  East  Saginaw,  and  others. 

Gentlemen  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  invitation  to  attend  a  convention,  at  your  city,  on  the  23d 
inst.,  of  those  friendly  to  the  contemplated  line  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad  "  from  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  by  the  way  of 
the  Straits  of  Mackinac  "  and  across  the  State  of  Michigan,  to  a 
point  of  connection  with  the  line  of  the  proposed  trans-continental 
railway  from  the  St.  Clair  river  to  Portland,  Halifax,  and  the  most 
eastern  shore  of  Newfoundland,  and  regret  that  prior  indispensable 
engagements  compel  me  to  forego  the  pleasure  of  a  visit,  at  this 
time,  to  your  interesting  section  of  the  country. 

In  this  connection  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  a  sec- 
tion of  the  European  and  North  American  Eailway,  80  miles  in 
length,  between  the  River  St.  Johns,  at  St.  Johns  city,  and  the 
River  ^t.  Croix,  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  United  States,  is  to 
be  formally  opened  for  business  on  the  1st  of  December — at  which 
opening  I  hope  to  be  present — leaving  but  56  miles  of  unfinished 
line,  now  in  rapid  progress,  between  Bangor  and  St.  Johns  city, 
the  entire  line  from  Halifax  to  Bangor  being  all  in  progress,  to  be 
opened^through,  600  miles  from  Portland  to  Halifax,  during  the 
year  1870. 

^  Portland  and  Saginaw  are  upon  the  same  parallel  of  latitude, 
and  the  deflection  from  an  air  line  to  Portland,  which  you  are  com- 
pelled to  make  to  pass  Lake  Huron,  is  scarcely  sufficient  to  be  taken 
intojaccount  in  projecting  a  great  line  of  railway  to  the  sea-board. 

We  all  recognize  Chicago  as  the  present  great  commercial  point 
in  the  Northwest,  but  any  one  must  perceive,  on  reference  to  a 
map,  the  extraordinary  advantages  for  a  great  city  at  the  head  of 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION.  17 

Lake  Superior,  and  it  is  apparent  to  any  one  that,  from  the  head  of 
Lake  Superior  to  the  foot  of  Lake  Huron,  the  shortest  practicable 
route  will  be  found  by  the  Straits  of  Mackinac,  resorting  to  a  ferry 
to  connect  the  two  sections  of  such  a  line. 

The  interesting  manner  in  which  the  claims  of  the  enterprise 
were  presented  to  the  Oswego  convention  by  its  President,  the  Hon. 
John  F.  Driggs,  for  many  years  your  able  and  honored  Represen- 
tative in  Congress,  with  the  aid  of  the  great  map  present  at  that 
convention,  produced  a  decided  and  profound  impression,  and  while 
the  call  for  the  Oswego  convention  looked  mainly  for  a  line  from 
Portland  to  Chicago,  we  could  not  fail  to  see  that  the  great  North- 
west, lying  far  above  Chicago,  was  ultimately  to  be  reached  from 
the  Atlantic  sea-board,  by  the  direct  line  contemplated  by  your 
call,  to  the  head  of  Lake  Superior  by  the  Straits  of  Mackinac. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  present  value  or  the  mighty 
future  of  the  vast  interior,  which  will  naturally  connect  itself  by 
rail  with  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  lying  upon  both  sides  of  the 
boundary  line.  But  there  is  a  vast,  unoccupied  region,  destined  in 
the  future  to  sustain  as  dense  a  population  as  that  which  now  in- 
habits the  same  latitudes  on  the  Eastern  Continent,  in  Northern 
Europe  and  Asia,  and  the  testimony  shows  that  wheat  can  be  raised 
as  far  north  as  the  60th  degree  of  latitude,  and  Indian  corn  over 
a  portion  of  this  region  of  the  vast  and  well  watered  table  lands 
west  and  northwest  of  Lake  Superior. 

I  had  occasion,  in  a  memorial  to  the  Legislature  of  Canada,  in 
1854,  to  say  "  that  from  the  shore  of  the  Atlantic  ocean,  at  Port- 
land, to  the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri  river,  every  portion  of  the 
country  presents  the  greatest  possible  attractions  to  invite  immi- 
gration ;  that  a  mild  climate,  healthy  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  a 
soil  of  abundant  fertility  for  the  production  of  food,  with  rich 
mines  and  luxuriant  forests,  are  here  found  for  the  hundreds  of 
miles  beyond  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  if  not  to  the  base  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

"  If  the  waters  of  these  mighty  rivers  could  be  turned  into  Lake 
Superior,  and  be  at  the  same  time  made  navigable  to  the  sea,  we 
might  form  some  idea  of  the  value  and  importance  of  a  railroad 
from  Portland  to  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  and  to  the  region  of 
country  beyond  it 

"  The  distance  from  the  great  bend  of  the  Missouri,  by  railway, 
to  the  Atlantic  ocean,  at  Portland,  would  be  hundreds  of  miles  less 
than  by  following  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers  to  their  mouth 
at  New  Orleans."     - 

Engaged  as  you  are  in  the  carrying  out  of  a  most  important  sec- 
tion of  a  great  national  and  international  work,  I  cannot  fail  to 
express  my  hearty  sympathy  in  your  labors,  and  my  wishe3  for  its 
abundant  success.  Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  A    POORE. 


IS  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


letter  from  the  vice-president  of  the  r.,  w.  &  o.  r.  r. 

Rome,  Watertown  &  Ogdensburg  Railroad,  ^ 
Vice-President's  Office, 

New  York,  Nov.  16th,  1869.  J 

Hon.  John  F.  Driggs, 

Dear  Sir  :  I  received,  a  few  days  since,  a  circular  letter,  under 
your  frank,  inviting  me  to  attend  a  Railroad  Convention  to  be  held 
at  East  Saginaw  on  the  23d. 

I  have  delayed  answering  till  now,  that  I  might  be  able  to  state 
definitely  whether  it  would  be  possible  for  me  to  be  present,  and 
am  now  obliged  to  say  that  I  must  forego  that  pleasure.  From 
the  number  and  variety  of  topics  to  be  presented  for  consideration, 
I  conclude  that  the  meeting  is  for  the  discussion  of  railroad  exten- 
sion generally;  doubtless,  however,  intended  to  have  a  special 
reference  to  a  few  particular  projects  named  in  the  circular. 

The  general  question  of  railroad  extension  is  one  in  which  I  feel 
a  deep  interest.  Taking  the  large  view,  and  not  being  confined  to 
those  projects  that  are  in,  or  tending  in,  the  direction  of  the  road 
with  which  I  am  connected,  I  have  had  an  opportunity  to  observe 
some  very  marked  instances  of  roads  which  have  been  undertaken, 
and  finally  completed  under  great  difficulties,  into  new  sections, 
where  the  construction  of  a  road,  at  all,  was  regarded  by  many  as 
impracticable,  and  by  others  as  premature,  but  I  have  lived  to  see 
the  immense  benefits,  at  first  confined  to  the  country  traversed  by 
the  road,  in  a  very  few  years  reflected  back  again  to  the  road,"  and 
the  capital  employed  in  its  construction  returned  with  good  interest. 

As  far  as  I  am  informed,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  the  route  in 
which  you  are,  I  think,  particularly  interested,  is  not  dissimilar  from 
the  instances  named,  with  this  advantage  in  its  favor :  That  to 
local  earnings,  which  must  be  large,  derived  from  the  whole 
of  Northern  Michigan,  now  only  needing  such  an  inlet  and  outlet 
to  make  it  equal  to  any  other  section  of  the  State, — to  this  will  be 
added  a  large  through  traffic  from  the  Superior  region,  and  espe- 
cially from  the  head  of  that  lake  and  proximate  to  it,  already  be- 
coming the  greatest  wheat  producing  region  in  the  West,  and  also 
from  the  connections  that  will  be  made  with  other  roads,  and 
especially  with  the  "  Northern  Pacific,"  which  may  be  counted 
upon,  with  great  certainty,  to  be  constructed  within  a  very  few  years. 
For  myself,  I  regard  the  inducements  to  the  capitalist,  and  to  the 
General  Government  to  undertake  this  work,  as  far  greater,  in  every 
point  of  view,  than  was  the  case  in  regard  to  the  Pacific  road, 
already  built,  when  it  was  projected. 

Great  and  extended  as  our  American  railway  system  has  already 
become,  it  is  but  the  beginning  of  that  which  we  shall  behold  in  the 
near  future.  We  shall  also  witness  equally  great  changes  in  the 
adaptation  not  only  of  the  roads  themselves,  but  of  the  equipment 
and  management  of  the  same,  tending  to  a  more  general  use  of  this 
system.     It  is  now  rapidly  overcoming,  and  soon  to  defy,  coinpeti- 


RAILROAD  CONVENTION,  19 

tion  with  any  and  all  other  means  of  transportation  of  property,  as 
it  has  already  done  in  the  conveyance  of  persons. 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  so  far  as  the  area  of  land  is  concerned,  as 
well  as  the  perfect  adaptation  of  soil  and  climate,  that  we  are  now 
able  to  supply  the  world  with  bread  and  the  other  elements  of  food 
dependant  on  the  soil  for  production.  The  only  obstacle  that  can 
be  discerned  to  our  doing  so  is  the  one  contingent  upon  the  cost  of 
transportation  from  the  field  to  the  points  of  distribution.  That 
this  is  to  be  accomplished  by  the  roads  built,  and  to  be  built,  can- 
not be  doubted  Every  other  question  affecting  the  future  growth, 
greatness  and  prosperity  of  our  great  "Empire  of  the  West1'  sinks 
into  utter  insignificance  as  compared  with  this,  which  applies  equal- 
ly  to  the  districts  in  which  cotton,  sugar,  tobacco  and  rice,  the 
great  American  staples,  are  produced. 

I  must  not  ask  your  attention  longer  to  what  might  be  added 
upon  a  question  of  such  interest ;  and  again  regretting  that  I  can- 
not meet  yourself  and  other  railroad  men  at  the  convention,  which, 
I  trust,  may  result  in  accomplishing  all  that  is  expected, 

I  am  very  truly  yours,  etc., 
MAKCELLUS  MASSEY. 


LETTER    FROM    HON.    JOHN    NEAL. 

Portland,  Maine,  l3th  Nov.,  1869. 

To  James  L.  Ketciiam,  Esq.,  Mayor  of  East  Saginaw,  and  his 
Associates  of  the  Common  Council. 

Gentlemen  :  I  have  delayed  answering  your  invitation  till 
to-day,  hoping  so  to  arrange  my  business  that  I  could  be  with  you 
and  assist  in  your  deliberations ;  but  as  I  find  now  that  I  cannot 
do  this,  allow  me  to  send  you  a  few  words  of  congratulation  and 
encouragement. 

On  looking  at  the  map,  to  which  you  call  our  attention,  I  find 
unquestionable  indications  of  that  same  providential  foresight 
which  buried  all  the  treasures  of  earth  at  the  beginning — all  our 
precious  metals,  our  gems,  our  anthracite,  our  bituminous  coal  and 
our  peat,  as  well  as  our  iron,  our  lead,  our  zinc  and  our  marbles — 
at  a  depth  exactly  corresponding  to  our  necessities,  our  growth  and 
our  energy,  obliging  us  to  inquire  after  them  and  to  dig  for  them, 
just  as  our  agricultural  riches  have  to  be  dug  for,  and  are  always 
found  just  where  and  when  they  are  most  needed. 

Just  so  has  it  ever  been,  and  is  now,  with  our  magnificent  rail- 
road enterprises.  When  they  are  wanted,  they  are  always  found. 
The  signs  are  all  along  our  pathway,  and  are  always  cropping  out, 
like  our  mineral  treasures,  only  to  be  overlooked  till  they  arc 
wanted.  And  what  is  more,  when  we  go  to  the  map,  after  due 
consideration,  we  find  our  boldest  undertakings  foreshadowed  there 
by  the  very  lay  of  the  land,  so  that  we  begin  to  wonder  why  they 
have  never  been  thought  of  before. 


20  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 

The  mountains  and  rivers  testify  for  your  encouragement,  just 
as  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania;  iron  and  coal,  and  lime  for  the 
flux,  with  sand  for  the  furnace,  are  found  lying  side  by  side,  for 
hundreds  of  miles  upon  a  stretch,  overhung  by  a  wilderness  of 
growing  charcoal,  and  all  to  be  had,  if  not  for  the  asking,  certainly 
for  the  digging  and  chopping,  the  burning  and  blasting. 

Under  this  view,  the  map  you  refer  to  is  of  itself  a  prophecy. 
You  find  a  way  left  open  to  you  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  ; 
a  pathway  for  nations  over  seas  and  continents. 

Ten  years  ago  the  road  you  have  in  view  was  not  wanted.  Had 
your  magnificent  scheme  been  projected  then,  it  would  have  been  a 
dead  failure,  not  for  a  season,  only,  but  perhaps  for  generations. 
And  why  ?  Because  it  was  not  then  needed,  and  being  attempted 
too  early,  the  failure  would  have  discouraged  your  posterity — like 
the  enterprise  of  Darien  ;  it  would  have  been  postponed  indefinitely, 
as  being  both  visionary  and  preposterous. 

Fifty  years  ago  the  golden  treasure-house  of  California  would  not 
have  been  reached,  though  dug  for.  The  time  had  not  arrived. 
But  now,  when  all  the  long-buried  riches  of  our  earth  are  honestly 
wanted,  and  whole  communities  are  bestirring  themselves,  they  are 
found  cropping  out  everywhere  along  the  highways  of  commerce, 
and  always  just  where  they  are  most  needed  and  are  most  faith- 
fully and  steadfastly  inquired  after  and  dug  for. 

Just  so  will  it  be  with  your  projected  railway  from  Puget  Sound 
to  thft  harbor  of  Portland,  Maine  It  is  now  wanted,  and  the  want 
is  felt,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  as  a  great  necessity,  alike 
unappeasable  and  active.  Can  there  be  a  doubt,  then,  of  its  tri- 
umphant and  early  success  ?  Look  at  the  map  once  more,  and  see 
if  you  do  not  find  there  all  the  encouragement  you  need.  I  have 
called  it  a  prophecy.  It  is  more ;  it  is  a  poem,  a  magnificent  epic, 
where  the  machinery  of  two  worlds  must  soon  be  employed.  You 
may  see  all  this,  if  so  disponed,  in  the  evident  provision  therein 
made  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  vast  undertaking  you  have  now 
entered  upon. 

But  you,  gentlemen,  are  business  men ;  you  have  come  together 
for  business — you  mean  business ;  and  I  have  only  to  add  that,  in 
my  judgment,  the  future  is  full  of  promise  for  you,  and  that  the 
sooner  you  sink  your  shafts,  and  the  sooner  your  furnaces  are  in 
blast  for  smelting  the  ore  committed  to  your  charge,  the  sooner 
you  will  understand  what  the  Builder  of  the  Universe  had  in  view 
when  He  laid  out  this  magnificent  highway  for  you,  through  moun- 
tain ranges  and  over  rivers — over  seas  and  continents,  rather — for 
such  it  will  be  in  time,  and  long  before  this  generation  has  been 
gathered  to  its  fathers. 

Wishing  you  the  success  you  so  well  deserve,  and  I  could  not 
well  say  more,  I  am,  gentlemen,  your  friend  and  fellow-laborer, 

JOHN  NEAL. 


railroad  convention.  21 

letter  from  hon.  t.  w.  ferry. 

Grand  Haven,  Nov.  17,  1869. 

Gentlemen  :  I  with  pleasure  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a 
printed  call  and  letter  inviting  attention  to,  and  presence  at,  a  con- 
vention to  be  held  at  East  Saginaw  on  the  23d  inst.,  looking  to  a 
speedy  completion  of  the  Northern  Pacific  and  Michigan  Short 
Line  Kailroad.  Unavoidable  public  duties,  I  regret  to  say,  will 
prevent  the  possibility  of  my  being  present. 

The  call  has  been  published  in  the  papers  of  this  city,  and  the 
attention  of  the  Common  Council  thereof  invited  to  the  subject 

I  need  not  say  that  the  project  meets  my  cordial  approval,  for  no 
one  identified  with  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  Michigan  could 
lend  other  than  hearty  co-operation. 

Trusting  that  the  convention,  in  the  consideration  of  the  vast 
interests  involved,  may  arrive  at  some  possible  plan  by  which  it 
will  be  made  to  appear  that  the  trans-continental  railroad,  via  the 
Northern  Pacific  and  Straits  of  Mackinac  route,  is  not  only  the 
shortest  one  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  sea-boards,  but  a  route 
thoroughly  practicable,  I  join  you  in  lively  hopes  for  the  comple- 
tion of  this  £reat  national  highway. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

T.   W.  FERRY. 
Hon.  James  L.  Ketch  am,  Mayor,  and  others. 


letter  from  l.  kendiuck,  esq. 

Dryden,  Lapeer  Co.,  Mich.,  \ 
Nov.  28th,  1869.  \ 

Hon.  John  F.  Drigos,  East  Saginaw,  Mich. 

Dear  Sir  :  Your  note  of  invitation,  and  circular,  is  received* 
and  contents  noted. 

The  object  of  the  convention,  as  set  forth  in  your  circular,  is  one 
of  vital  importance  to  the  people  of  this  State,  and  more  partic- 
ularly to  those  of  the  Upper  Peninsula  and  that  portion  of  the 
State  you  had  the  honor  to  represent  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States. 

I  have  conversed  with  quite  a  number  of  the  leading  men  in  the 
eastern  part  of  our  county,  and  their  voice  is  as  that  of  one  man. 
They  regard  the  enterprise  as  second  to  no  one  of  its  kind  in  the 
nation,  and  one  that  must,  from  the  very  nature  of  circumstances, 
be  ultimately  a  success. 

One  thing  is  morally  certain — that  the  Saginaw  Valley  will  be 
on  the  line  of  the  proposed  road,  and  whether  Detroit  or  Port 
Huron  should  be  the  next  point  of  importance  in  the  State  touched 
by  this  great  national  artery,  the  result  will  be  about  the  same,  so 


22  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


far  as  benefiting  Northern  Michigan  Still  the  people  in  this  local- 
ity would  be  more  directly  interested  in  a  road  that  would  make 
Detroit  one  of  its  objective  points. 

I  regret  very  much  that  circumstances  beyond  my  control  forbid 
my  being  present  at  the  convention. 

We  shall  look  forward,  with  a  great  deal  of  interest,  to  the  result 
of  this  very  important  gathering  in  your  city,,  and  with  a  hope? 
based  upon  the  best  of  reasons,  shall  look  forward  to  the  ultimate 
and  final  triumph  of  all  you  propose. 

I  am,  dear  sir, 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

L.  KENDRICK. 


LETTER    PROM    HON.    WM.    E.    DICKINSON. 

Michigan  Exchange, 
Detroit,  Nov.  9th,  1869. 
Hon.  John  F.  Driggs,  East  Saginaw. 

Dear  Sir  :  As  I  passed  through  Milwaukee  yesterday  P.  M.,  I 
noticed  that  it  was  intended  to  call  a  Railroad  Convention  in  your 
city  in  regard  to  railroads  in  Upper  Michigan.  Witf  you  please 
send  a  circular  of  the  proposed  meeting  to  Robert  H.  Larnborn, 
Esq.,  Secretary  Lake  Superior  &  Mississippi  Railroad,  Fifth 
and  Library  streets,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
I  shall  try  and  be  present  myself. 
With  kindest  regards  to  yourself, 

Truly  yours, 

WM.  E.  DICKINSON, 

54  William  street, 
(Room  26,) 

New  York. 


letter  from  edgar  conkling,  esq. 

Detroit,  Michigan,  Nov.  15,  1869. 
Hon.  John  F.  Driggs  : 

Bear  Sir  :  I  am  now  on  my  way  to  Sheboygan,  Michigan, 
where  I  shall  be  for  the  present  and  until  I  can  build  at  Mackinaw 
City  the  coming  spring.  I  went  to  Ohio  in  1829,  and  to  Cincin- 
nati in  1841,  and  now  come  to  your  State  to  reside  for  the  balance 
of  my  life,  and  propose  developing  my  property  at  the  Straits  of 
Mackinaw,  of  some  35,000  acres,  in  accordance  with  the  plan  set 
forth  in  my  pamphlet  sent  you.  But  for  the  lateness  of  the  season, 
I  would  gladly  attend  your  coming  Railroad  Convention,  on  the 
23d,  at  Saginaw,  of  great  interest  to  your  State  and  whole  country. 

I  began  to  urge  the  construction  of  railroads  to  and  from  the 
Straits,  on  either  side,  in  all  directions,  in  1853,  and  then  secured 
Old  Mackinaw,  foreseeing  the  day  would  come  when  there  would 


XAILKOAD    CONVENTION.  23 


be  an  important  union  of  rail  and  water  lines  of  commerce.  I  have 
fully  posted  myself  in  regard  to  all  that  country,  and  I  challenge 
the  refutation  of  my  assertion  that  there  is  no  point  on  the  north- 
ern lakes  surrounded  with  so  many  elements  of  manufacturing,  and 
that  its  agricultural  capabilities  are  greatly  underrated,  and  that 
the  construction  of  railroads  through  that  section  of  country  to 
Superior  City  will  develop  more  latent  wealth,  in  a  few  years,  than 
that  of  the  settled  portion  of  the  southern  peninsula  of  Michigan. 
•No  such  agricultural  and  mineral  country,  with  such  cheap  facili- 
ties of  transportation  for  distribution,  while  on  the  high  road  of 
the  most  important  line  between  Europe  and  Asia,  can  fail  tobecome 
a  populous  and  wealthy  country — much  more  so  than  other  sections 
now  being  settled,  much  less  favored  with  such  elements  and  prox- 
imity to  market. 

The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  will  need  all  the  outlets  possible 
to  get,  whether  by  water  from  Superior  City,  or  by  railroad  via 
St.  Paul  and  Chicago,  or  Detroit  via  Mackinaw.  No  selfish  ideas 
should  be  allowed  in  this  great  national  highway.  All  sections  of 
the  country  contributing  to  its  aid  should  equally  share  in  its  ben- 
efits. The  short  time  limited  for  its  construction  suggests  the 
greatest  harmony  in  prosecuting  the  work  and  in  securing  needed 
legislation.  For  one,  I  shall  seek  to  present  Northern  Michigan 
to  the  public  in  a  manner  that  will  invite  greater  attention  to  its 
many  superior  advantages  for  manufacturing  and  commerce. 

Yours  respectfully, 

EDGAR  CONKLING. 


letter  from  henry  stephens,  esq. 

Almont,  Nov.  20,  1869. 

Mr.  A.  P.  Brewer,  East  Saginaw. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  understand  there  is  to  be  a  Railroad  Convention 
at  your  city  on  the  22d.  I  do  not  think  any  of  our  people  will  be 
there,  and  therefore  have  been  requested  to  write  some  one  who 
will  take  the  trouble  to  inform  those  interested  that  we,  the  towns 
of  Almont  and  Dryden,  wish  to  be  on  the  route  adopted  to  reach 
the  Michigan  Air  Line  Railroad,  as  we  have  been  informed  it  is  one 
of  the  objects  of  the  convention  to  take  measures  to  organize  a  com- 
pany to  make  such  connection,  and  we  would  suggest  if  the  road 
goes  to  Lapeer,  that  as  Armada  is  the  most  northern  point  on  the 
Michigan  Air  Line,  and  the  topography  of  the  country  between 
Lapeer  and  Armada  is  very  level,  and  no  streams  to  cross,  of  any 
size,  that  this  route,  being  direct,  is  no  doubt  the  cheapest  to  build, 
and  can  and  will  raise  the  greatest  amount  of  aid.  I  am  confident 
that  Almont  and  Dryden  would  by  vote  and  subscription  raise 
$100,000  to  $150,000,  and  we  want  to  have  the  chance  to  do  it. 
Try  and  advocate  our  claims,  and  you  will  have  our  thanks. 


24  NORTHERN    PACIFIC. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  would  be  to  place  this  letter  in  the  hands 
of  those  who  are  active  and  influential  in  this  enterprise,  and  you 
can  vouch  for  the  writer,  I  trust,  and  can  also  give  any  information 
as  to  feasibility  of  route. 

Very  truly  yours, 

HENRY  STEPHENS. 


At  the  conclusion  of  the  reading  of  the  letters,  the  President 
said  : 

If  it  is  the  pleasure  of  the  Convention,  I  will  occupy  some  of  its 
time  now  in  reading  a  paper  that  I  have  prepared  myself,  more 
especially  with  reference  to  the  wealth  and  probable  advantages  to 
be  secured  to  a  line  in  the  northern  portion  of  our  State.  I  have 
prepared  the  paper  at  the  request  of  gentlemen  of  the  committee, 
and  I  do  not  wish  to  intrude  upon  the  Convention  now,  unless  it  is 
their  pleasure.  ♦ 

A  motion  was  made  and  carried  that  the  President  proceed  now 
with  his  report,  as  proposed.     Mr.  Driggs  then  read  the  following : 

PAPER    READ    BY    MR.    DRIGGS. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  :  Within  the  last  few  years  we 
have  witnessed  the  marvelously  rapid  construction  of  one  railroad 
line  from  ocean  to  ocean,  across  the  center  of  the  United  States. 
This  road  was  commenced  during  the  rebellion,  was  prosecuted 
through  a  terrible  war  for  its  suppression,  and  completed  soon  after 
its  close;  an  achievement,  under  the  circumstances,  which  no  other 
nation  ever  equalled  ;  a  triumph,  within  the  time,  of  engineering, 
of  labor,  and  perseverance,  to  which  the  history  of  the  world  fur- 
nishes no  parallel. 

The  present  needs  two  more  Pacific  railroads,  a  Northern  and  a 
Southern  road ;  and  the  rapidly  approaching  future  will  have  them. 
What  has  been  done,  under  more  favorable  circumstances,  certainly 
can  be  done  again. 

The  Government  made  very  large  grants  of  land  to  the  Union 
and  Central  roads,  and  also  to  the  Northern  Pacific — the  charter  to 
which  grants  forty  sections  to  the  mile  from  the  western  boundary 
of  Minnesota,  and  twenty  sections  east  of  that  line  to  the  head  of 
Lake  Superior.  In  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  J.  M.  Howard,  U.  S. 
Senator,  he  computes  this  grant  to  be  equal  in  extent  to  the  State 
of  New  York ;  being  a  strip  across  the  continent  nearly  forty  miles 
wide.  The  greater  portion  of  this  vast  area  of  land  is  unsurpassed 
in  richness  of  soil,  timber  and  minerals,  and  highly  favored  by  the 
even  mildness  of  its  ctimate ;  yet,  without  access  by  means  of  a 
railroad,  is  comparatively  without  value.  Most  of  it  would  remain 
undisposed  of  at  $1  25  per  acre,  and  unoccupied  under  the  home- 
stead or  pre-emption  laws  for  many  years  in  the  future.  But  build 
the  road,  and  all  the  arable  lands  within  the  limits,  and  other  por- 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION.  25 


tions  valuable  for  minerals  and  timber,  would  be  rapidly  taken  up 
by  actual  settlers,  and  considered  cheap  at  ten  times  their  present 
value. 

The  land  grant  to  the  Union  and  Central  Pacific  roads  is  believed 
to  be  far  less  valuable  than  the  Northern  Pacific  grant,  by  reason 
of  the  extended  barren  plains,  the  wider  mountain  ranges  of  much 
greater  altitude,  the  deeper  winter  snows,  and  the  inferiority  and 
severity  of  the  climate  on  the  line  over  which  the  roads  pass.  It 
cannot  be  denied,  however,  that  these  roads  are  (for  the  immediate 
present)  compensated  for  this  deficiency  by  the  fact  that  their 
western  terminus  is  at  the  present  populous  Pacific  metropolis, 
San  Francisco,  and  that  they  pass  through  many  intermediate 
towns  and  settlements,  thus  securing  an  immediate  large  amount  of 
local  traffic  and  travel.  Portions  of  their  lands,  however,  since  the 
roads  are  built,  are  very  valuable,  while  before  the  consummation 
of  the  great  work  they  were  entirely  insufficient  to  secure  the  build- 
ing of  the  roads,  and  might  have  remained  so  for  fifty  years  to 
come 

A  Government  subsidy,  then,  was  necessary  to  secure  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  work.  The  aid  was  given,  and  now  the  iron  horse 
steams  his  way  in  seven  days  (one-eighth  of  the  distance  around  the 
globe)  from  ocean  to  ocean,  across  a  continent,  over  rivers  and 
streams,  through  valleys  and  gorges,  and  over  mountain  tops  eight 
thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  If  these  roads  were  a 
necessity,  and  if  the  Government  acted  wisely  in  extending  its  aid 
beyond  that  afforded  by  the  land  grant  to  the  Central  and  Union 
Pacific,  may  it  not  be  wise,  also,  to  extend  it  to  the  Northern 
Pacific,  and  even  to  a  Southern  Pacific  road? 

From  Shanghai  to  London,  via  Puget  Sound,  Lake  Superior, 
Mackinaw  and  Portland,  it  is  considerably  nearer  than  via  San 
Francisco  and  New  York,  with  a  much  lighter  grade ;  the  highest 
point  reached  by  the  Northern  Pacific  road  being,  I  believe, 
according  to  recent  surveys,  only  about  3,500  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea ;  while,  as  before  remarked,  the  other  road  passes  over 
an  elevation  of  8,000  feet. 

The  beauty  and  capacity  of  the  harbor  of  Puget  Sound,  the 
western  terminus  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  are  too  well 
known  to  need  any  further  'praise.  It  is  the  finest  harbor  in  the 
world. 

The  road  from  this  magnificent  haven  to  water  communication 
with  the  Atlantic,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  will  be  only  1,600 
or  1,700  miles  long;  where  the  chain  of  rivers,  lakes  and  canals, 
from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  New  York,  meets  the  road  at 
Superior  Bay,  1,500  miles  from  the  Atlantic  tide-water,  and  nearly 
half  way  across  the  continent  at  its  widest  point.  Such  an  advan- 
tage as  this  unparalleled  water-course  affords  for  freight  and  traffic 
for  seven  months  in  the  year,  no  other  route  across  the  continent 
can  ever  possess.     It  is  not  my  purpose  to  furnish  accurate  tables 


26  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


of  comparative  distances  to  show  the  saving  in  favor  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  over  other  routes  from  China  to  Europe,  or  from  the 
Pacific  to  Chicago,  New  York,  Boston  or  Portland.  These  are 
facts  to  be  determined  and  settled  by  scientific  men,  by  engineers, 
and  by  exact  computation  of  curves,  angles,  and  distances.  But 
that  is  shorter  it  is  evident,  and  that  it  is  to  become  the  great  future 
highway  of  travel  and  trade  between  Europe  and  Eastern  Asia,  no 
man  can  doubt  who  properly  appreciates  the  advantages  of  short 
lines  and  of  direct  water  communication  between  London  and  Paris 
and  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  at  Superior  Bay. 

Independent  of  these  great  advantages  for  securing  international 
commerce  and  travel,  the  Northern  Pacific  route  is  far  superior  to 
all  others  on  account  of  the  climate,  productiveness  of  the  soil, 
timber,  minerals,  the  rivers,  streams,  and  the  water  facilities  afford- 
ed on  the  line.  It  is  of  some  of  these  I  design  more  particularly 
to  speak,  especially  of  the  Northern  Michigan  and  Mackinaw 
route. 

It  has  long  since  been  demonstrated  by  experience  that  wheat, 
barley,  oats,  hops,  and  all  cereal  productions,  the  potato,  cabbage, 
beet,  turnip,  and  other  like  vegetables,  as  well  as  apples,  pears, 
plums,  and  some  other  fruits,  grow  more  abundantly  and  are  of 
better  quality  in  the  highest  latitudes  where  they  can  mature,  than 
in  more  southerly  regions.  For  the  production  of  most  of  these 
articles,  especially  the  great  staple  of  wheat,  the  vast  basin  or  region 
of  country  lying  between  latitudes  44  and  54  north  and  longitudes 
15  and  35  west  from  Washington,  and  known  as  the  Saskatchewan, 
the  Red  River  of  the  North  and  Upper  Missouri  river  valleys,  is 
unequalled  by  any  other  same  number  of  acres  upon  the  surface  of 
the  earth. 

This  region  alone,  (through  the  center  of  which  the  road  is  to 
pass,)  when  fully  developed,  is  capable  of  supplying  the  world  with 
grain,  and  of  sustaining  fifty  millions  of  souls,  a  number  much 
greater  than  the  present  population  of  the  United  States. 

Of  the  timber,  minerals,  and  soil  upon  the  western  slope,  from 
the  summit  of  the  dividing  mountain  range  to  Puget  Sound,  in 
passing,  I  will  only  .say  that  the  testimony  of  all  who  have  traveled 
over  the  route,  and  are  familiar  with  the  country  bordering  the 
same,  is  that  its  richness  in  these  respects  is  only  excelled  by  the 
grazing  and  wheat  growing  qualities  of  the  eastern  slope,  from  the 
mountains  to  Lake  Superior. 

Having  thus  far  considered  the  subject  from  a  general  point  of 
view,  and  having  briefly  referred  to  the  country  and  its  productive 
capabilities  from  Lake  Superior  to  Puget  Sound,  I  come  now  to 
consider  the  question  as  to  the  route  the  road  should  take  from  the 
head  of  Lake  Superior  to  the  Atlantic  sea-board.  From  the  head 
of  Lake  Superior  to  Montreal  river,  the  dividing  line  between 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  it  is  about  95  miles,  and  from  that  point 
to  Mackinaw  about  275  miles— making  the  distance  from  Superior 
to  Mackinaw  370  miles,  from  Mackinaw  to  Saginaw  175  miles, 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION, 


27 


from  Saginaw  to  Detroit  96  miles,  from  Saginaw  river  to  St.  Clair 
river,  on  a  line  to  Lewiston  or  Niagara,  80  miles  ;  making  the  en- 
tire distance  from  Superior  to  Saginaw  545  miles,  to  Detroit  64l, 
and  to  St.  Clair  river  625  miles.  These  distances,  though  not 
accurately  determined  by  measurement,  are  believed  to  be  substan- 
tially correct. 

A  road  over  this  line,  to  connect  at  Lewiston  with  the  one  con- 
templated from  Portland,  must  make  a  saving  of  distance,  from 
Superior  to  that  city,  of  about  200  miles  over  the  routo  from 
Superior  via  Chicago.  I  am  aware  that  this  saving  of  distance  will 
be  diminished  by  a  branch  from  the  Northern  Pacific,  at  some  point 
considerably  west  of  Superior,  to  Chicago ;  but  Superior  being  the 
present  eastern  terminus  fixed  in  the  charter  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  for  that  road,  and  that  being  the  great  water  outlet  to  the 
ocean,  in  summer,  and  the  Mackinaw  route  offering  the  only  com- 
peting railroad  line  for  the  shipment  of  the  products  of  this  vast 
northern  region,  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  people  of  the 
same  that  this  road  should  be  built,  even  if  the  distance  were  no 
less  than  by  Chicago. 

The  amount  of  local  business  that  would  be  secured  to  such  a 
road  in  Northern  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  between  Superior  and 
the  Saginaw  river,  seems  to  be  but  little  understood  or  appreciated 
by  the  country,  arid  I  now  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  this  Con- 
vention and  the  railroad  men  of  the  East  to  the  facts. 

In  the  year  1835,  or  1836,  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
(to  settle  the  boundary  dispute  between  Ohio  and  Michigan)  ceded 
the  Territory  now  known  as  the  'Upper  Peninsula  to  the  then  Ter- 
ritory of  Michigan.  At  this  time,  and  for  many  years  thereafter, 
very  little  was  known  of  this  important  and  valuable  region,  except 
that  it  was  covered  with  timber  and  that  copper  had  been  discov- 
ered on  Isle  Royale  and  in  some  other  localities,  but  as  to  the 
amount,  or  extent  of  its  existence,  no  one  knew.  Nor  is  the  value 
of  its  vast  deposits  of  iron  and  copper  known  or  appreciated  even 
to  this  day. 

As  far  back  as  1636  copper  was  discovered  by  the  Jesuit  mis- 
sionaries upon  Lake  Superior,  and  an  attempt  was  made,  in  1770, 
by  an  English  company,  to  mine  it.  A  vessel  of  40  tons  was  built 
by  this  company  upon  Lake  Superior,  above  the  Sault,  to  transport 
men,  machinery  and  supplies.  Mining  operations  were  commenced 
and  prosecuted  about  two  years  near  Ontonagon,  but  proving  un- 
profitable, were  abandoned  in  1774. 

The  first  scientific  exploration  of  the  mineral  lands  of  Lake 
Superior  was  made  by  Dr.  Douglass  Houghton,  Michigan  State 
Geologist,  between  the  years  1840  and  1845.  He  made  annual 
reports  of  his  discoveries,  but  as  he  perished,  while  prosecuting  his 
labors,  in  1845,  by  drowning,  he  never  published  his  final  report. 
The  publication  of  his  annual  statements  brought  many  to  the  dis- 


28  NORTHERN    PACIFIC. 


trict  as  early  as  1843,  and  from  that  period  to  the  present,  copper 
mining  has  been  pursued  at  many  points  on  Lake  Superior,  and 
with  varied  successes,  profits  and  losses. 

Previous  to  this  time,  the  entire  freighting  business  of  Lake 
Superior  was  carried  on  by  one  or  two  small  schooners,  which  had 
to  be  built  above  the  Sault.  These  rapids,  in  St.  Mary's  river,  be- 
tween Lakes  Huron  and  Superior,  are  about  one  mile  in  length,  and 
effectually  prevented  vessels  from  passing,  by  water,  from  the  lower 
to  the  upper  lake  In  consequence  of  this,  tram-ways  were  con- 
structed around  the  falls,  and  several  steamers  hauled  over  the 
portage. 

This  slow  and  expensive  process  was  rendered  necessary,  as  no 
other  means  existed  for  obtaining  vessels  upon  Lake  Superior  until 
the  completion  of  the  Sault  Canal  in  1855.  That  magnifient  pub- 
lic work  was  built  by  the  State  of  Michigan,  through  the  aid  of  a 
grant  of  750,000  acres  of  land  made  by  the  Government  to  the 
State,  in  1853,  for  that  purpose.  At  the  period  of  the  completion 
of  the  canal,  and  the  free  and  uninterrupted  passage  of  the  largest 
vessels  to  and  from  Lake  Superior,  an  immense  impulse  was  given 
to  the  production  and  shipment  of  copper  and  iron.  Before  that 
time  the  expense  of  exportation  made  the  production  of  these  val- 
uable minerals  from  their  inexhaustible  mines  comparatively  small. 
But,  in  the  next  eight  years,  as  the  following  table  will  show,  there 
was  shipped  from  Lake  Superior  over  $10,000,000  worth  of  copper 
alone : 

TONS.  POUNDS. 

1855 7,642 

1855  t  >  1857 11,312 

1858 3,500 

1859 4,200 

1860 6.000 

18^1 7,400, 

1862 9,062 

1863 8,548 

1864 8,472 

1S65 ln,790  *  ,156 

1866 10,375  1.68S ' 

1867 11,735  552 

Total 90,037  1 ,396 

This,  as  before  remarked,  brought  in  the  market  over  $40,000,000; 
the  product  of  1867  bringing  $4,700,000.  During  the  present 
year  (1869)  there  has  been  shipped  from  the  Marquette  Iron  Dis- 
trict about  600,000  tons  of  iron  ore  and  pig  metal,  valued  at 
$4,200,000.*  The  interest  of  copper  has  been  greatly  depressed, 
for  the  last  few  years,  by  the  increased  cost  of  production  and  for 
the  want  of  as  equal  a  protection  as  has  been  afforded  to  other  sim- 
ilar interests.  Under  the  protection  now  secured,  it  is  hoped  and 
believed  that  its  production  will  increase  until  it  shall  reach  an 
amount  equal  to  the  home  demand,  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  thousand 
tons  per  annum. 

*  For  the  actual  product  of  the  Marquette  Iron  District,  in  1869,  see  letter  from  Hiram 
A.  Burt,  Esq.,  in  Appendix  to  this  pamphlet. 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION.  29 


With  the  increased  facilities  which  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
road will  afford  for  a  winter  shipment  of  these  articles,  and  for 
taking  in  supplies  of  ail  kinds  for  their  production,  there  can  be  no 
reasonable  doubt  of  such  a  result,  nor  th#t  the  annual  production 
of  pig  iron  and  iron  ore  will  be  increased  to  800,000  instead  of 
600,000  tons,  as  at  present.  When  this  shall  be  done,  the  annual 
exports  of  iron  and  copper  will  be  twelve  or  thirteen  million  dollars. 

About  one-half  of  the  iron  is  brought  from  the  mountains  to 
Marquette  over  the  Marquette  Railroad,  and  shipped  from  that 
point,  the  other  half  being  taken  to  Escanaba,  at  the  head  of  Green 
Bay,  over  the  Escanaba  Railroad,  and  shipped  from  there.  The 
copper  is  principally  shipped  from  Ontonagon,  Houghton,  Hancock, 
Eagle  River,  Eagle  Harbor,  Copper  Harbor,  Lac  La  Belle  and 
Torch  Lake.  Marquette,  Negaunee,  Houghton,  Hancock  and 
Rockland  are  populous  towns.  Marquette  and  Negaunee,  in  the 
iron  district,  and  Houghton  and  Hancock,  in  the  copper,  contain- 
ing about  4,000  inhabitants  each,  and  for  schools,  churches,  hotels, 
stores  and  dwellings,  will  compare  favorably  with  other  towns  of 
the  same  size.  The  .whole  population  of  the  Upper  Peninsula  is 
believed  to  be  not  far  from  60,000. 

The  number  of  vessels  which  passed  through  the  Sault  Canal  in 
1864  was  1,414,  their  united  tonnage  being  571,183.  These  ves- 
sels, forming  regular  lines  between  Buffalo,  Cleveland,  Detroit, 
Milwaukee  and  Chicago,  were  about  one-quarter  large  class  steam- 
ers, the  balance  being  sailing  vessels.  The  immense  stores  of  all  de- 
scriptions freighted  through  the  canal  to  supply  the  mines  and  these 
inhabitants  are  purchased  from  the  merchants,  mechanics  and  trad- 
ers of  Pittsburg,  Cleveland,  Buffalo,  Detroit,  Chicago  and  Milwaukee, 
and  are  paid  for  in  copper,  iron  ore,  pig  iron,  lath,  shingles,  etc. 
Not  only  do  the  lake  cities  have  the  benefit  of  the  profits  on  these 
supplies,  but  the  copper  and  iron  received  in  exchange  gives  employ- 
ment to  thousands  of  their  mechanics,  artisans,  and  laborers  in  their 
smelting  works,  foundries  and  machine  shops,  and  from  which  other 
large  direct  and  indirect  profits  are  derived.  In  fact,  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  there  is  any  other  source  from  which  they  receive  so 
great  a  benefit. 

The  Upper  Peninsula  of  Michigan  can  never  become,  to  any 
great  extent,  an  agricultural  region,  that  portion  bordering  on  the 
lake  being  too  rocky  and  the  soil  too  poor  for  many  kinds  of  crops. 
In  some  portions  of  it,  however,  farming  may  hereafter  be  profit- 
ably pursued.  Grass,  cabbage,  turnips,  beets,  and  several  other 
vegetables,  grow  to  perfection.  Wheat,  oats  and  barley  also  ripen 
there,  while  potatoes  of  the  best  quality  grow  in  great  abundance. 
In  September  last,  I  saw  some  very  fine  apples,  pears  and  plums 
growing  on  the  farms  of  Messrs.  Sayles,  Mercer  and  Cash,  at  On- 
tonagon, and  the  vegetables  spoken  of  in  their  gardens,  as  well  as 
on  the  land  of  Mr.  Hoyt,  at  Rockland.  None  of  these,  however, 
yet  grow  in  sufficient  quantities  for  home  consumption  except 
potatoes,  which  are  beginning  to  be  exported.     There  is,  however, 


#0  SOUTHERN    PACIFIC 


another  source  of  wealth  in  the  forests  of  white  pine  timber  grow- 
ing there  ;  this,  in  consequence  of  its  rapid  exhaustion  in  all  other 
sections  of  the  country,  is  soon  to  become  second  in  value  to  the 
mineral  deposits. 

So  important  has  the  Government  of  the  United  States  consid- 
ered the  present  and  future  products  and  commerce  of  Lake  Super- 
ior to  the  country,  that  it  has,  from  time  to  time,  made  large  grants 
of  land  and  money  to  deepen  its  rivers,  and  to  build  its  ship  canals, 
wagon  and  railroads.  The  principal  grants  for  these  objects  have 
been  as  follows  :  For  the  Sault  Canal,  750,000  acres ;  for  the  Por- 
tage Lake  Ship  Canal,  400,000  acres ;  for  the  Lac  La  Belle  Canal, 
100,000  acres  j  for  the  Marquette  and  Ontonagon  Railroad,  about 
640,000  acres;  for  the  Escanaba  and  Negaunee  Railroad,  about 
320,000  acres ;  for  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railroad  about 
826,000  acres,  and  for  the  Fort  Howard  and  Copper  Harbor  wagon 
road  about  320,000  acres — making  a  total  of  appropriations  of 
2,856,000  acres  of  public  lands.  Of  these,  only  about  1,600,000 
acres  have  been  actually  acquired  by  the  companies ;  400,000  more 
for  the  Portage  Lake  and  Lake  Superior  Ship  Canal  Company 
doubtless  soon  will  be.  The  remaining  856,000  acres,  for  the  west 
half  of  the  Marquette  and  Ontonagon  Railroad,  from  Lake  Michi- 
gaumee  to  Ontonagon,  for  the  Northwestern  Railroad,  from  Menom- 
inee to  Kscanaba,  and  for  the  military  wagon  road  from  the  Wis- 
consin State  line  to  Fort  Wilkins,  at  Copper  Harbor,  will  soon 
revert  to  the  Government,  unless  the  grants  are  renewed.  The 
money  appropriated  and  recommended  has  been :  For  a  break- 
water at  Marquette,  $250,000 ;  for  Ontonagon  harbor,  $200,000, 
and  for  Eagle  Harbor,  $87,000— making  $537,000.  Besides  this, 
large  sums  have  been  appropriated  for  the  St.  Mary's  river,  for 
light-houses,  surveys,  etc. 

It  has  been  carefully  estimated,  from  as  reliable  data  as  can  be 
ascertained,  that  the  annual  production  of  white  pine  lumber  in  the 
State  of  Michigan,  including  timber,  shingles,  and  other  descrip- 
tions, is  greater  than  that  produced  in  all  the  other  States  com- 
bined, and  that  there  is  still  standing  in.  its  forests  a  larger  amount, 
of  a  superior  quality,  than  in  all  of  the  other  territory  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  This  quality  of  pine,  once  growing  in  New 
York,  Maine,  and  other  eastern  sectious,  has  nearly  all  disappeared, 
leaving  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  to  supply  the  present 
and  rapidly  increasing  demand. 

This  almost  indispensable  and  valuable  timber  once  removed,  is 
never  to  be  replaced,  at  least  to  any  extent ;  for  if  allowed  to  grow 
again,  which  is  not  the  case,  it  would  require  from  50  to  80  years 
to  become  as  fully  grown  as  at  present. 

Fifteen  years  ago  the  amount  of  lumber  manufactured  in  the 
State  was,  as  compared  with  the  present,  very  small.  I  am  informed 
by  Mr.  Curtis  Emerson,  one  of  the  earliest  lumbermen  here,  that 


KIAILHOAD    CONVENTION. 


the  only  cargo  of  lumber  shipped  from  the  Saginaw  Valley  in 
1846,  twenty-three  years  ago,  was  on  the  schooner  "Julia  Smith,'1 
and  consisted  of  01,000  feet. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  amount  cut  in  the  Valley  in 
1863,  and  the  increase  from  that  year  to  1868,  inclusive  : 

FRET. 

1 863 1 33,500,000 

1864 215,W0,0<>0 

18(55  250,639,?40 

1866 349,767,884 

1867 423,9*>3,]90 

1868 457,396,225 

Total 1,830,266,639 

It  has  been  ascertained  that  in  the  year  1868  there  was  cut,  in 
the  entire  State,  1,600  000,000  feet,  Saginaw  Valley  and  the  Bay 
Shore  producing  about  one-third  of  the  whole  amount.  Making 
what  I  suppose  to  be  a  low  estimate,  that  the  annual  production  in 
the  whole  State,  in  the  last  eighteen  years,  has  been  400,000,000 
feet,  the  entire  product  within  that  period  has  been  7,200,000,000 
feet.  Placing  the  average  yield  at  3,750  feet  to  the  acre,  and  at 
1500,000  feet  to  the  80-acre  lot,  we  find  the  enormous  number  of 
1,920/00  acres  from  which  the  pine  has  been  removed  in  this 
State. 

Estimating  the  entire  amount  yet  standing  in  Northern  Michi- 
gan, including  the  Upper  Peninsula  at  double  the  amount,  say 
4,000,000  acres,  the  future  yield  will  be  15,000,000,000  feet,  and 
at  the  present  price  of  $15  per  M  ,  will  be  worth  in  market  $225,- 
000,000.  The  timber,  shingles,  etc.,  will  bring  at  least  $75,- 
000,000  more,  making  the  pine  in  the  forests  of  Northern  Michi- 
gan produce  the  vast  sum  of  $300,000,000.  This  4,000,000  acres 
of  standing  pine,  at  present  rates  of  exhaustion,  will  all  be  cleared 
in  12  or  14  years.  But  as  heretofore  the  pine  has  been  mostly  cut 
on  streams  accessible  for  running  logs,  and  as  much  of  the  remain- 
ing timber,  both  in  the  Lower  and  the  Upper  Peninsula,  is  found 
in  sections  too  distant  from  the  water-courses  to  make  them  avail- 
able for  that  purpose,  the  supply  from  such  localities  must  depend 
upon  future  railroad  and  other  facilities  for  transportation  to  mar- 
ket. Until  such  means  are  aiForded,  the  annual  yield  must  soon  be 
diminished,  and  this  may  prolong  the  entire  exhaustion  of  white 
pine  in  the  State  for  a  period  of  18  or  20  years  ;  but  beyond  that, 
it  is  hardly  possible. 

Should  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  be  continued  to  Mackinac 
it  will  be  about  2,000  miles  long,  and  should  its  bonds  be  guaran- 
anteed  by  the  Government  for  $30,000  per  mile,  (near  the  probable 
cost,)  the  entire  guarantee  would  be  $60,000,000,  or  one-fifth  only 
of  the  value  of  the  product  of  the  pine  forests  of  Northern  Michi- 
gan. 

The  value  of  other  timber  can  hardly  be  over-estimated,  it  being 
certain  that  no  State  in  the  Union  has  a  larrger  amount  of  white 


32  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 

oak,  maple,  beech,  ash,  and  other  qualities  of  hard  and  soft  timber, 
than  Michigan.  Of  the  article  of  oak  staves  there  was  manufac- 
tured and  shipped  from  the  Saginaw  Valley  alone  in  the  year  1868  : 

0,846,000,  which,  at  $60  per  M.,  brought $    410,760 

The  hard  wood  timber  of  all  kinds  was  valued  at 300,000* 

Shingles,  104,104,500,  at  $4  per  M., 416,418 

Lath 123,C0O 

Of  the  articles  of  headings,  hoops,  staves,  etc.,  other  than  for  salt  barrels  used 

here,  there  was  shipped,  in  vaJ  tie, ;  ...  50,000 

Of   pine  lumber  proper,  457,396,225    feet,    at    $15     per    M., .' 6,860,943 

Waking    the    total    product    of    lumber,  of    all     descriptions,    shipped    in 
18t>8  from  Saginaw  Valley $8,461,121 

The  manufacture  of  salt  was  commenced  in  the  Valley  in  1860, 
and  the  product  has  been  as  follows : 

YKAR.  BARRELS.  YEAR.  RARRBLS. 

18*0 4,000  1865 477,200 

186? 125,000  1866 407  997 

1862 243,000.  1867 474,721 

18cl3 466,356  1868 555,690 

18 '4  529,073. 


Total  number  of  barrels, , 3,283,037 

The  product  of  1808  amounting  to  $1,1?  1,380 

By  adding  the  value  of    lumber 8,461,121 

It  makes  the  total  product  of  the  Valley  in  the  articles  of  lumber 

and  salt  alone, , $9,572,501 

In  the  whole  State,  including  the  above,  there  was  manufac- 
tured, in  1868,  1,  600,000,000  feet,  at  $15  per  M  ,  amounting  to  : 

Lumber, $24,000,000 

Staves, 1.64x,040 

Timber 1,000,000 

Shingles, 1,249,254 

Lath, 492,000 

Hoops,  heading,  soft  wood,  staves,  etc., 150,000 

Total t ; $28,534,294 

OF    FISH. 

BARRELS. 

During  the  year  1868  there  were    caught    at  Thunder  Bay 7,000 

At  Harrisville, 5,500 

At  the  Sauble, 30,000 

In   the  Saginaw  river  and  at  the  head  of  the  Bay, 4,000 


Total, 46,500 

And  valued  at $325,500 

Assuming  this  to  be  one-half  the  yield  on  the  lake  shores  of  the 
State,  the  value  of  the  fish  caught  in  the  whole  State  in  1868  was 
$651,000. 

PLASTER. 

The  extent  and  quality  of  the  plaster  beds  at  Alabaster,  on  the 
Saginaw  Bay,  are  unsurpassed  in  this  or  any  other  State  The 
exportation  from  there  in  1868  was  : 

TONS. 

01  rock  plaster, 25,000 

Of  ground    do.     for  land, ......"  2,000 


Total .....27,000 

^o  ,      ,  BARRELS. 

Of  ground  plaster, 10,000 

Of  ground  do.,  calcined, *. 5*000 


Total 15,000 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION. 


I  do  not  know  the  amount  or  value  of  the  production  of  the 
(J rand  Rapids  beds  for  this  year,  but  the  above  exports  from  Ala- 
baster brought  in  market  $144,000. 

From  the  foregoing  statistics,  which,  when  not  taken  from  annual 
returns,  are  based  upon  careful  estimates  and  comparisons,  the  gross 
value  of  the  products  of  Northern  Michigan,  for  the  year  1868, 
inclusive  of  its  agricultural,  mechanical  and  several  minor  interests, 
was,  from  the  forests,  mines,  quarries  and  fisheries  alone,  as  fol- 
lows : 

Copper  and  iron  from    Lake   Superior, $  8,900,000 

Lumber,  timber,  shingles,    lath,    staves,   etc., 28,554,294 

Bali 1,111.380 

Fish, 651,000 

Plaster, 144,000 

Total,   $39,340,594 

These  figures  are  certainly  not  exaggerated,  but  much  lower  than 
other  statements  made  by  competent  men,  who  have  spent  more 
time  and  labor  in  consulting  the  facts,  but  whose  calculations,  in 
some  respects   are  believed  to  be  too  high. 

A  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  on  the  Mackinaw  route  would 
reach  the  extensive  quarries  of  marble  which  have  been  discovered 
(and  supposed  to  be  of  the  best  quality)  at  the  head  of  Menominee 
river,  thus  affording  an  outlet  for  the  same. 

It  would  also  run  through  that  splendid  pine  region  lying  be- 
tween the  Escanaba  and  Montreal  rivers,  a  large  portion  of  which 
is  not  reached  either  by  the  Escanaba,  Menominee,  Montreal  or 
Ontonagon  rivers,  or  their  tributaries. 

These  forests,  as  well  as  those  in  the  Lower  Peninsula,  away 
from  the  streams  and  on  the  line  of  the  'road,  must  furnish  thou- 
sands of  millions  of  lumber  for  transportation  by  rail. 

The  richest  and  most  extensive  deposits  of  iron,' in  what  is  called 
the  Marquette  District,  are  known  to  be  on  the  line  of  this  road, 
between  the  head  waters  of  the  Menominee  and  Lake  Michigaumee. 
These  vast  and  inexhaustible  stores  are  sufiicient  to  produce  a  mil- 
lion tons  per  annum  for  a  century  to  come,  and  all  of  which  must 
be  brought  to  market  by  rail. 

Every  worker  of  iron  knows  that  the  charcoal  pig  of  Lake  Su- 
perior is  unequalled  in  quality,  and  that  its  production  heretofore 
has  been  entirely  inadequate  to  the  demand.  This  is  in  conse- 
quence of  the  spareness  of  hard  wood,  and  the  soft  and  poor 
quality  growing  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mines,  for  charcoal,  and  for 
supplying  the  furnaces  with  fuel.  On  the  recent  visit  of  Mr.  S. 
P.  Ely  to  this  city,  (the  Superintendent  of  the  Marquerte  Rail- 
road), knowing  him  to  be  a  gentleman  of  much  intelligence,  and 
largely  interested  in  the  production  and  shipment  of  iron  ore,  I 
inquired  of  him  how  it  was  that  they  shipped  the  great  bulk  of  iron 
in  the  ore,  instead  of  first  converting  it  into  pig ;  to  save  the  profit 
and  prevent  the  loss  of  freight  to  Cleveland  on  the  dross  ?  His 
reply  was  as  before  stated,  that  it  was  for  the  want  of  hard  wood, 


NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


lime,  &c,  of  which  the  lower  Peninsula  furnishes  so  vast  an  amount 
of  the  best  quality.  He  added, -"should  a  railroad  be  constructed 
across  the  Straits  to  the  iron  mines,  furnaces  and  smelting  works 
would  be  put  in  operation  all  along  the  line  from  Mackinaw  to 
Saginaw,  where  the  necessary  materials  for  their  successful  opera- 
tion are  found  without  limitation  as  to  quality  or  quantity.'' 

This  unquestionable  result  would  not  only  furnish  such  a  road 
with  an  unlimited  amount  of  business,  but  would  convert  the  for- 
rests  of  hard  wood  into  money  instead  of  leaving  them  waste  as  at 
present ;  would  clear  the  soil  for  the  plow,  rear  villages,  and  peo- 
ple the  line  with  thousands  of  industrious  and  thriving  inhabitants. 
Not  only  so,  but  a  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  over  the  line  sug- 
gested would  soon  be  tapped  by  branches  from  the  towns  and 
mines  on  the  copper  range,  and  would  thus  secure  the  Spring,  Fall 
and  Winter  travel  and  the  freight  of  copper  and  supplies  to  and 
from  the  mines. 

The  forty  million  annual  product  of  Northern  Michigan  would 
be  in ei eased  to  sixty  millions,  as  most  of  the  localities  from 
which  this  product  is  realized  would  be  reached  by  this  road.  If 
one-fifth  of  the  passenger  and  freighting  business  was  secured  to 
the  road,  it  would  more  than  pay  the  entire  cost  of  running  from 
Superior  to  Saginaw  River. 

I  was  recently  informed  by  an  intelligent  farmer,  who  cultivates 
a  thousand  acres  about  sixty  miles  west  of  St.  Paul,  in  Minnesota, 
that  the  State  produced  twenty  million  bushels  of  wheat  in  1868, 
and  after  much  travel  through  that  portion  adapted  to  its  growth, 
he  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  not  one  acre  in  fifty  had  been  culti- 
vated. If,  however,  one.twentieth  was  used  to  produce  the  twenty 
million  bushels,  when  all  is  sown  with  wheat  the  yield  will  be  four 
hundred  million  of  bushels 

The  Valleys  of  the  Upper  Missouri  and  Saskatchewan  are  as 
fine  for  the  growth  of  wheat  as  Minnesota  and  embrace  a  territory 
five  times  as  large.  When  they  are  peopled  by  agriculturist,  as 
they  soon  will  be,  if  railroad  facilities  are  afforded,  2,000  million 
bushels  of  wheat  can  be  produced,  and  all  of  which  will  seek  an 
outlet  by  water,  down  the  lakes,  and  by  all  the  railroads  that  can 
be  secured  and  reached. 

This  amount  of  wheat  alone,  as  compared  with  the  celebrated 
granaries  of  Egypt  and  the  Black  Sea,  is  as  an  ocean  to  a  drop. 

The  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Michigan,  at  its  last  session, 
passed  an  act  ceding  the  Sault  St.  Mary  Canal  to  the  general 
Government,  with  a  view  of  having  it  deepened  to  fourteen  feet  and 
made  free  to  commerce.  When  this  is  done,  and  the  Portage 
Canal,  cutting  off  Keweenaw  Point,  is  finished  (thus  materially 
shortening  the  distance,  by  water,  from  the  Sault  to  the  head  of 
Lake  Superior),  and  when  the  St.  Paul  and  Superior,  the  Hudson, 
«St.  Croix  and  Superior  and  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroads  are 
completed  to  some  point   at  the  head  of  the  lake,  where  a  large 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION, 


35 


city  will  be  built,  with  its  immense  elevators  and  wharehouses  to 
recei  7e  and  discharge  the  freight,  fifteen  thousand  vessels,  instead 
of  fifteen  hundred,  as  at  present,  will  annually  pass  through  the 
Sault  Canal. 

The  Mackinaw,  and  all  other  lines  of  Railroads  from  Chicago 
and  other  points  connecting  with  the  Northern  Pacific,  will  require 
double  tracks  to  do  the  business.  This,  too,  without  counting 
upon  international  or  local  business  secured  from  the  mineral 
regions  west  of  the  mountains. 

If  this  line  had  been  established,  and,  by  reason  of  competition 
with  other  routes,  had  reduced  the  freight  to  the  sea-board  only 
five  cents  per  bushel  on  wheat,  the  farmers  of  Minnesota  would 
have  saved  thereby  one  million  dollors  on  the  crop  of  1868. 

The  Trans-continental  Railroad  Convention  recently  held  at 
Oswego,  N.  Y.,  appreciating  the  great  necessity  for  the  shortest 
and  most  direct  Railroad  connection  with  the  Northern  Pacific  at 
the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  aftev  much  able  discussion  and  consi- 
deration, unamously  adopted  the  following  resolutions  : 

Resolved,  by  this  Convention,  That  in  forming  a  connection  with  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  the  shortest 
and  most  practical  route  should  be  adopted. 

Resolved,  That  while  in  the  opinion  of  this  Convention,  connections 
ought  to  and  will  be  made  via  Chicago,  the  continuation  of  the  N.  P. 
R.  R.  to  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  so  as  to  connect  with  the  contem- 
plated road  from  Portland  to  the  Detroit  and  St.  Clair  Rivers,  ought 
also  to  be  secured. 

I  am  aware  that  the  project  of  crossing  the  Sault  River  and 
passing  through  Canada  to  Montreal,  and  thence  over  to  Vermont 
roads  to  Portland,  has  long  been  entertained  by  some  of  the  ofii- 
cers  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R.  Company,  who  are  interested  in  said  roads. 

And  I  am  also  aware  of  the  fact  that  this  project  becoming 
known,  once  defeated  a  subsidy  to  the  N.  P.  Road  by  Congress. 

This,  while  Canada  remains  a  foreign  country,  ought  not  to  be 
thought  of.  But  that  being  the  natural  and  by  far  the  shortest 
route  to  the  ocean,  it  can  only  in  the  nature  of  future  events  be 
delayed  till  Canada  and  the  British  possessions  in  North  America 
become  part  of  the  United  States.  When  that  day  comes,  and 
come  it  soon  must,  the  increased  products  of  the  North- West  will 
create  a  necessity  for  that  and  all  the  other  outlets  to  the  East 
that  can  be  secured,  without  injury  to  this  or  any  other  roads. 

Finally,  the  only  practical  question  to  be  considered  is,  Sow 
shall  this  Convention  aid  in  securing  the  speedy  completion  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railroad  by  way  of  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw  ?  I  answer, 
by  favoring  in  every  possible,  honorable  way,  Government  aid  to 
both  such  a  Northern  Pacific  and  a  Southern  Pacific  Road.  Such 
aid,  either  extended  as  security  for  the  payment  of  the  principal, 
or  for  the  interest  on  the  bonds  of  the  roads,  will  secure  their 
speedy  completion.  The  Grovernment  can  be  amply  secured 
against  loss,  by  holding  a  mortgage  on  the  lands  and  on  all  the 
property  belonging  to  the  corporations. 


36  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


The  liberal  proposition  will  unite  the  strength  of  the  North  and 
South  in  Congress,  and  overcome  any  opposition  the  present  Pacific 
Railroad  might  bring  to  bear  against  it.  As  a  financial  question 
in  view  of  the  National  debt,  if  the  roads  are  built,  it  is  believed 
that  the  increase  of  population,  of  wealth,  of  com  mere  e,/iand  of 
taxable  property,  will  make  the  nation  richer  instead  of  poorer, 
at  the  end  of  ten  years,  even  if  it  should  finally  loose  eighty  or 
one  hundred  millions  by  becoming  security. 

This  was  the  opinion  expressed  and  maintained  in  a  very  able 
paper,  prepared  and  read  at  the  Oswego  Convention,  by  Edwin  F. 
Johnson,  Esq.,  chief  engineer  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Eailroad, 
and  his  views  in  this  respect  are  concuired  in  by  many  prudent 
statesmen  and  thoughtful  citizens.  This  eminent  engineer  also 
gives  it  as  his  opinion  from  practical  knowledge,  that  there  will  be 
no  serious  difficulties  met  with  in  crossing  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw. 

While  living,  Hon.  Thaddeus  Stevens  was  an  ardent  friend  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  by  this  route.  He  frequently  told 
me  when  in  conversation  on  the  subject,  that  some  day,  not  far  in 
the  future,  one  of  the  largest  inlandjcities  of  the  continent  would 
be  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior.  In  this  opinion,  I  doubt  not, 
he  was  correct. 


At  the  conclusion  of  the  reading  of  the  foregoing  paper,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  Hubbell,  of  Lake  Superior,  the  thanks  of  the  Con- 
vention were  voted  to  Mr.  Driggs,  for  his  very  able  address. 

Hon.  D.  H.  Jerome,  of  Saginaw  City,  read  the 

REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  CREDENTIALS. 

Showing  the  following  named  gentlemen  to  be  entitled  to  seats  as 
Delegates  in  this  Convention  :     From 

Ann  Arbor — R.  S.  Smith. 

Bay  City— Jas  Birney,  H.  M.  Fitzhugh,  C.  0.  Fitzhugh,  D.  H. 
Fitzhugh,  Luther  Westover,  Wm.  Westover,  J.  J.  McCormick, 
J.  McDermot,  Geo.  Campbell,  J.  J.  Campbell. 

Buena  Vista — C.  W.  Kimball,   Michael  Leidlein,  S.  0   Munsou. 

Chesamng — F.  P.  Kenyon,  R.  H.  Nason,  R,  W.  Andrus,  J.  C. 
Goodale,  R.  P.  Mason,  Geo.  W.  Chapman. 

Corunna — James  Cummins,  Hugh  Mc Curdy,  S.  R.  Kelsey, 
J.  N.  Ingersoll,  E.  F.  Wade,  'E.  C.  Moore,  D.  Bush,  0.  S.  Con- 
verse, J.  B.  Wheeler,  Wm.  Oaks,  John  L.  Simonson. 

Chicago,  III — J.  H.  Pearson 

Detroit — Wm  H.  Craig,  Luther  Beecher,  Wm.  Phelps,  James 
P.  Mansfield,  E.  Reidy,  John  Burt,  R.  H.  Anderson,  H.  H.  Em- 
mons, J.  D.  Standish,  F.  W.  Swift,  Wm.  A.  Moore,  Geo.  S.  Frost, 
Morgan  Johnson,  A.  E.  Bissell,  M.  M.  Fisher. 


RAIXfBOJLD    CONVENTION.  87 


East  Saginaw — J  as.  L.  Keteham,  John  F.  Driggs,  Geo.  W.  Peck , 
J.  Fisher,  W.  J  Bartow,  Joe  A.  Hollon,  C.  K.  Robinson,  Win. 
L.  Webber,  I).  W.  C.  Gage,  J.  K.  Eose,  L.  S.  Lenheim,  J.  F. 
Brown,  A,  B.  Wood,  0.  H.  Gage,  M.  B.  Hess,  T  Edsall,  David 
Bust.  C.  Ortman,  M.  Jeffers,  E.  T.  Judd,  J.  J.  Wheeler,  T.  K. 
Doughty,  L.  W.  Tisdale. 

Flint— A..  Thayer,  J.  W.  Begole,  R.  W.  Jenny,  A.  L.  Aldrieh, 
F.  H.  Rankin,  A.  B.  Witherbee. 

Grand  Rapids — Win.  A.  Howard. 
Houghton— J.  A.  Hubbell,  Ransom  Sheldon. 
Holly — J.  B.  Simonson. 
Jackson — Eugene  Pringle,  Horace  8.  Ismon. 
Lapeer — E.  J.  White. 

Laming — J.  W.  Longyear,  Cyrus  Hewett,  A.  N.  Hart,  A.  E. 
Cowles,  Alfred  Bixby,  D.  L.  Case. 

Ifarquttie — Hirm  A.  Burt. 

Midland — John  Larkin,    James   W.   Cochrane,    John  Haynes, 

C.  E.  Ball,  James  S.  Eastman,  George  A.  Janes. 

Mason — 0.  M.  Barnes. 

Monroe—  A.  J.  Sawyer,  D.  A.  Noble,  Edwin  Willitts,  T.  R. 
Little,  J.  Wall,  G.  W.  Strong,  H.  J.  Redfield,  0.  Ives,  J.  R. 
Eauch,  J.  E.  Ilginpitz,  A.  Darber,  A.  G.  Bates,  Charles  Toll, 
E.  G.  Morton,  T.  Doyle,  J.  McLoure,  M.  D.  Hamilton. 

Northville — J.  S.  Lapham. 

Oswego,  K  Y.— A.  S.  Page,  B.  Doolittle,  George  Goble,  R. 
Lippineott,  C  Doolittle,  Jno.  A.  Barry. 

Owosso — B.  0.  Williams,  D.  Gould,  A  L.  Williams. 

Plymouth — C.  H.  Bennett. 

Port  Huron — 0.  D.  Conger,  J  W.  Sanborn,  Edgar  White, 
Cyrus  Miles,  John  Miller,  W.  L.  Bancroft,  D.  B.  Harrington. 

Portsmouth — Albert  Miller. 

Saginaw  City — A.  F.  R.  Braley,    A.  W.  Wright,    John  Moore, 

D.  H.  Jerome,  N.  Barnard,  W.  S.  Green,  Daniel  Hardin,  C.  T. 
Brenner,  Thomas  Merrill,  Benton  Hanchett,  E.  Briggs,  James 
Haye,  J.  F.  Adams,  Ezra  Rust,  J.  H.  Sutherland. 

Salem,  State  of  Oregon — David  Miller. 

St.  Clair — John  E.  Kilton,  M.  H.  Miles,  A.  J.  Chapman,  Wm. 
Grace,  Eugene  Smith,  B.  W.  Jenks. 

St.  Johns — Hon.  Randolph  Strickland. 

Tuscola — J.  H.  Richardson,  D.  G.  Slafter,  W.  H.  Harrison, 
J.  A.  McPherson. 

Toledo,  Ohio.— A.  E.  McCumber,  H.  A.  Boyd. 

Vassar — B.  W.Huston,  Dr.  Wm.  Johnson,  T.  North,  F. Bournes, 
Alexander  Trotter,  S.  A.  Lane. 

Watrousville — H.  P.  Atwood. 

Wenona— H.  W.  Sage,  T.  F.  Sheppard,  Jas.  B.  Ten  Eyck, 
H.  H.  Wheeler,  Frank  Fitzhugh. 


38  NORTHERN    PACIFIC, 


On    motion,    the  report  of  the    Committee  was    accepted    and 
adopted. 

Hon   Wm.  Phelps,  of  Detroit,  presented,  as  the 

REPORT    Of    THE   COMMITTEE    ON    PERMANENT   ORGANIZATION, 

The  names  of  the  following  persons  as  officers  for  the  permanent 
organization  of  the  Convention  : 

For  President — Hon.  John  Moore,  of  Saginaw. 

f  John  McLaren,  of  Monroe. 

I  Josiaii  W  Begole,  of  Flint. 

|  John  Burt,  of  Detroit. 

...     n       7,1  Ransom  Sheldon,  of  Houghton. 
Vice  Presidents  <  rr  o    t  e  t     i 

]  Horace  S.  Ismon,  ot  Jackson. 

|  B.  0.  Williams,  of  Owosso. 

|  Marcus  H.  Miles,  of  St.  Clair. 

Luther  Westover,  of  Bay  City. 
LB.  W.  Huston,  of  Yassar. 

William  Phelps,  of  Detroit. 
I  F.  H.  Rankin,  of  Flint. 

last  Saginaw. 


i  William  Phelps,  of  Dc 
}  F.  H.  Rankin,  of  Flinl 
f  Michael  Jeffers,  of  E 


The  report  of  the  Committee  was  adopted ;  and  the  gentlemen 
named  took  their  places  on  the  platform. 

On  being  introduced  to  the  Convention  by  Mr.  Driggs,  Hon. 
John  Moore,  in  assuming  the  Chair,  made  the  following  remarks : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention. — I  am  somewhat  accustomed 
to  the  uncertainty  that  attends  the  rendition  of  a  verdict  by  a 
petit  jury.  It  has  been  said  that  before  its  rendition  what  such 
verdict  will  be  is  as  uncertain  as  where  lightning  will  strike.  If 
I  had  received  a  slight  shock  of  lightning,  I  should  not  have  been 
more  astonished  than  I  am  in  being  called  upon  to  preside  over 
the  deliberations  of  this  convention. 

I  appreciate  the  honor  of  being  called  upon  to  preside  over  a 
convention  like  this,  of  gentlemen  assembled  from  all  portions  of 
our  State  and  adjoining  States,  to  deliberate  upon  a  question  of 
the  importance  of  that  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  this  con- 
vention. You  have  assembled  irrespective  of  locality  and  irres- 
pective of  party  predilections,  to  counsel  together  with  regard  to 
a  great  National  enterprise. 

The  large  attendance  here  to-day,  and  the  interest  already  mani- 
fested in  these  proceedings,  argue  well  for  the  success  of  the  con- 
templated enterprise.  The  character  of  the  gentlemen  who  have 
here  assembled,  showjthat  the  questions  togbe  considered  have  en- 
gaged the  attention  of  business  men  ;  that  they  are  questions,  not 
of  an  hour  or  a  day,  but  that  they  are  the  developements  of  a 
great  necessity,    growing   out   of  the  unexampled    growth  of  the 


RAlLltOAl)    CONVENTION.  39 


business  interests  of  our  State  and  Nation.  The  paper,  or  report, 
which  has  been  read  to  the  convention  by  the  Hon.  John  F.  Driggs, 
giving  as  it  does  in  detail  a  full  statement  of  the  great  interests  to 
be  developed  and  promoted  by  the  construction  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad,  and  tho  great  benefits  that  will  result  to  this 
State  and  the  Nation  at  large,  by  such  a  road,  have  brought  to 
your  mind  clearly  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking  and  the 
necessity  of  this  great  National  enterprise. 

There  is  no  necessity  that  I  should  trespass  upon  your  time  by 
any  further  reference  to  the  subject  that  has  brought  you  together. 
It  is  one  I  have  no  doubt  that  has  received  your  consideration. 
It  could  not  have  been  otherwise.  The  importance  of  the  enter- 
prise is  well  understood.  Any  assistance  that  I  can  give  you  in 
jour  deliberations,  or  that  I  can  hereafter  render  to  promote  the 
building  of  the  road  through  our  State,  will  be  a  pleasure  on  my 
part.  With  this  feeling  I  accept  the  position  you  have  assigned 
me,  and  thank  you  for  the  honor  of  serving  you  upon  this  plat- 
form. 

Hon.  George  W.  Peck  moved  that  a  Committee  of  seven  mem- 
bers be  appointed  by  the  Chair,  to  report  Resolutions,  and  an  Or- 
der of  Business,  for  the  consideration  of  the  Convention ;  which 
motion  prevailed. 

The  President  appointed  as  such 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS,  ETC. 

Geo.  W.  Peck  and  John  P.  Driggs,  of  East  Saginaw;  H.  M. 
Fitzhugh,  of  Bay  City;  W.  H.  Craig,  of  Detroit;  Artemas 
Thayer,  of  Flint ;  H.  A.  Burt,  of  Marquette  ;  and  Eugene  Pringle 
of  Jackson. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  until  seven  oclock  P.  M. 


EVENING    SESSION. 

The  Convention  re-assembled  pursuant  to  adjournment,  and  was 
called  to  order  by  the  President. 

Hon.  Geo.  W.  Peck>  for  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  and 
Order  of  Business,  announced  that  the  Committee  would  not  be 
prepared  to  report  before  to-morrow  morning. 

At  the  request  of  a  Delegate,  the  Call  under  which  this  Con- 
vention had  assembled,  was  read  by  one  of  the  Secretaries. 

An  interesting  discussion  of  the  objects  of  the  Convention  then 
tbok  place,  and  was  continued  to  a  late  hour.     It  was  participated 


40  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 

in  by  Hon.  Wm.  A.  Howard,  of  Grand  Rapids ;  H.  H.  Emmons, 
Esq.,  of  Detroit;  Hon.  John  F.  Driggs,  of  East  Saginaw;  Hon. 
Randolph  Strickland,  of  St,  Johns;  and  John  A.  Barry,  Esq.,  of 
Oswego,  N.  Y. 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Barry's  remarks,  on  motion,  the  Convention 
adjourned  until  10  o'clock  to-morrow  morning. 


MORNING    SESSION. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  10  o'clock,  A.  M.  on 
Wednesday,  November  24th. 

Mr.  John  Burt,  of  Detroit,  being  called  upon,  addressed  the 
Convention  in  favor  of  the  route  proposed,  representing  to  the 
Convention  the  great  facilities  and! advantages  of  the  extension 
tliroughjthe  Upper[  Peninsula  of  Michigan,  from  information  of 
the  nature  of  the  territory,  derived  from  his  personal  explorations 
of  many  years,  as  a  surveyor. 

The  President  :  There  has  just  been  placed  in  my  hands  a 
letter  from  Hon.  Austin  Blair,  M.  C,  which  the  Secretary  will 
read. 

letter  from  kx-governor  blair. 

Jackson,  Nov.  23,  1869. 
Hon.  Jas.  L.  Kktcham,  John  F. L>RiGGSjuid  otherTJommittee,  &c. 

Gentlemen  :  I  am  wholly  unable  to  attend  the  Convention  at 
East  Saginaw  to-day,*  to  which  .  you^were  sojkind  as^to  invite  me. 
My  » egret  on  this  account  is  the  greater  that  during  the  past  sum- 
mer I  have  had  occasion  to  visit  Puget  Sound,  and  to  become  some 
acquainted  with  the  needs  and  capabilities  of  that  important  re- 
gion of  our  country. 

The  building-'of  one  railroad^to  the  Pacific  Ocean  has  served  to 
prove  how  much  we  need  two  more.  And  especially  to  us  of  the 
northern  portion[of  our  country  has  it  proved  the  necessity  of  the 
road  to  Puget  Sound.  To  the  great  body  of  our  people  this  is 
still  to  a  great  extent  an  unknown  region,  possessed  of  a  cold  and 
rigorous  climate  and  valuable  for  little  except  lumber  and  timber, 
far^away^on  the  road  to  Alaska  and  eternal  snow. 

Nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth.  The  climate  of  the 
country  lying  around  this  magnificent  Sound  is  milder  and  more 
genial  than  that  of  our  older  States.  The  soil  is  rich  and  fertile, 
producing  abundantly  all  the  crops  that  belong  to  this  zone.     There 


RAILROAD   CONVENTION,  41 

are  nearly  fifteen  hundred  miles  of  coast  all  easily  accessible  to 
shipping,  lying  around  this  Sound  and  the  bays  that  form  a  part 
of  it. 

Beyond  all  doubt  here  is  to  be  the  seat  of  a  vast  commerce  and 
the  homes  of  a  numerous  population.  As  a  gateway  to  China  and 
the  Indies  it  is  superior  to  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco. 

There  is  no  longer  a  doubt  that  the  Northern  route  is  more  prac- 
ticable at  all  seasons  of  the  year  than  the  Central.  Besides  it  is 
cur  route  above  all  others  and  cannot  fail  to  commend  itself  to  the 
good  judgment  of  our  people. 

I  should  be  glad  to  have  been  with  you  at  this  important  con- 
vention, and  to  have  joined  in  its  discussions,  but  since  that  may 
not  be,  I  shall  hope  still  to  aid  you  efficiently  in  other  fields  of 
your  enterprise. 

I  sympathize  entirely  with  your  objects  and  will  promote  them 
in  all  proper  ways. 

Very  Respectfully,  Your  Obedient  Servant, 

AUSTIN  BLAIR. 


Mr.  Peck  :  Before  proceeding  to  discharge  my  duty  as  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  permit  me  to  read  to  the 
Convention  a  letter  from  Mr.  Johnson,  the  Engineer  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railroad. 

LETTER    FROM    E.    F,    JOHNSON,    0.    E. 

Middleton,  Ct.,  Nov.  15th,  1869. 
To  Hon.  Jas.  L.  Ketcham,  John  F.  Driggs,  and  others.  Commit- 
tee, etc.,  East  Saginaw,  Michigan. 

Gentlemen  :  It  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  comply  with  your 
invitation  to  be  present  at  the  convention  at  your  place  on  the  23d 
inst.,  or  to  express  in  writing,  at  any  length,  my  views  upon  the 
interesting  topics  to  be  discussed  by  the  convention.  These,  so  far 
as  the  Northern  Pacific  road  is  concerned,  were  very  fully  stated 
to  the  convention  lately  held  at  Oswego,  and  will  appear  in  their 
proceedings.  For  my  general  views  as  to  the  need  of  additional 
railway  lines  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  reasons  therefor,  I  refer 
to  my  published  report  of  last  year,  made  to  the  Ontario  Shore 
Railroad  Company. 

The  Northern  Pacific  road,  when  built,  is  to  have  its  eastern 
terminus,  as  provided  in  its  charter,  at  some  point  on  Lake  Super- 
ior, within  the  States  of  Wisconsin  or  Minnesota.  This  point  has 
not  yet  been  determined.  The  Northern  Pacific  Company,  so  far 
as  I  know,  do  not  contemplate  asking  Congress  for  any  extension 
of  their  line  towards  the  east  beyond  their  present  chartered  limits. 
But  if  the  country  demands  such  extension,  they  will  not,  I  presume, 
oppose  it,  but  will  carry  out,  in  good  faith,  whatever  is  required  of 
them  by  the  Government. 


NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


Upon  the  subject  of  a  line  of  railway  from  near  the  western 
extremity  of  Lake  Superior  to  a  connection  with  lines  leading  to 
Port  Huron  or  Detroit,  by  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  I  can  say 
that,  from  my  knowledge  of  the  country  south  of  Lake  Superior, 
derived  from  observation  and  otherwise,  the  ground  is  in  general 
favorable,  and  free  from  obstructions  of  a  serious  character,  and 
will  nowhere  probably  require  a  gradient  exceeding  40  feet  to  the 
mile. 

Passing  from  this  region  to  Michigan  proper,  the  principal  im- 
pediment is  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  which  is  three  and  one-half* 
miles  from  Point  La  Barbe,  on  one  side,  to  Point  McGalpin  upon 
the  other,  with  an  average  depth  of  water  from  65  to  70  feet,  and 
a  maximum  depth  of  216  feet,  sufficient  to  deter  from  any  attempt 
at  bridging. 

The  passage  of  this  strait  by  railway  trains  can,  however,  be  very 
economically  and  expeditiously  made,  and,  I  think,  at  all  seasons, 
by  means  of  boats  constructed  for  the  purpose. 

As  to  Michigan  proper,  or  Lower  Michigan,  the  face  of  the  coun- 
try is  known  to.  be  very  favorable  for  the  construction  of  a  road, 
with  easy  gradients.  It  is  nowhere  marked  by  any  very  strong 
features  of  a  character  to  require  extraordinary  expense  in  the 
building  of  a  road. 

So  far,  therefore,  as  regards  the  line  as  a  whole,  the  important 
question  is  whether  the  business  and  resources  of  the  country 
through  which  it  will  pass  are  such  as  to  justify  its  construction. 

My  own  opinion  is,  that  viewed  as  a  local  road  only,  it  will 
eventually  be  well  sustained.  That  portion  of  it  lying  west  of  Lake 
Michigan  will  have  large  mineral  resources.  The  ores  of  iron  now 
so  extensively  mined  near  Lake  Superior  are  situated  at  Neguanee 
and  vicinity,  near  the  line  of  the  railway  to  Marquette,  on  Lake 
Superior,  on  one  side,  and  to  Escanaba,  on  the  little  Bay  de  No- 
quet,  on  Lake  Michigan,  on  the  other. 

From  these  mines  are  now  shipped  to  southern  and  eastern  mar- 
kets over  300,0C0  tons  of  iron  ore  annually.  To  the  south  and 
west  of  this  locality,  near  the  divide  of  the  Lake  Superior  and 
Mississippi  waters,  and  extending  west  as  far  as  the  western  extrem- 
ity of  the  lake,  there  are  other  deposits  of  iron  ore  equally  rich  and 
extensive. 

These  latter,  together  with  the  copper,  which  is  scattered 
throughout  the  same  region  will  come  within  the  influence  of  the 
proposed  road  and  be  developed  by  it.  There  are  also  in  the  same 
region  large  andjvaluable  tracts  of  pine  lands,  the  lumber  of  which 
will  find  its  way  to  market  over  the  road.  The  soil  of  this  region 
in  Wisconsin  and  especially  in  Upper  Michigan,  is  in  general, 
sandy  and  light,  but  there  are  considerable  portions  well  adapted 
to  cultivation  which  will  be  fully  improved  to  supply  the  wants  of 
the  mining  and  lumbering  population  that  will  gather  within  its 
limits. 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION.  43 

The  line  from  Mackinaw,  south,  passes  centrally  through  lower 
Michigan  in  a  position  favorable  for  commanding  the  business  of 
that  portion  of  the  State.  This  portion  is  being  rapidly  settled. 
In  addition  to  the  farm  products  of  the  soil,  it  has  extensive 
groves  of  pine  and  other  timber  and  embraces  within  its  limits  a 
largo  part  of  the  coal  basin  and  the  Salt  Springs  of  Central 
Michigan. 

The  above  remarks  apply  mainly  to  the  local  business  of  the 
proposed  road.  If  an  enterprise  of  this  character  will  stand  this 
test,  its  success  may  be  deemed  certain,  for  all  lines  of  railway, 
wherever  situated,  invariably  attract  largely  to  their  support  the 
business  of  the  more  remote  sections  of  the  country. 

Passing,  as  the  proposed  line  does  for  much  of  its  extent,  through 
an  undeveloped  region,  it  will  require  the  aid  which  the  Govern- 
ment has,  in  similar  cases,  bestowed  — a  grant  of  the  Government 
lands  in  alternate  sections  within  a  limited  distance  on  either  side 
of  it.  The  aid  thus  given,  when  judiciously  conferred  upon  lines 
that  are  really  meritorious,  enriches  both  the  Government  and  the 
country.  This  is  shown  by  the  stimulus  it  has  imparted  to  the 
building  of  railways  in  the  newer  sections  of  the  country,  and  the 
rapid  advance  in  those  sections  in  population  and  in  taxable  wealth. 

With  best  wishes  that  the  action  of  your  convention  may  re- 
sult beneficially  to  Michigan  and  the  country  at  large, 

I  am,  gentlemen,  very  respectfully  yours, 

EDWIN  F.  JOHNSON, 

Civil  Engineer. 

Mr.  Rust  :  I  would  remark  to  the  Convention  that  Mr.  John- 
son's letter  was  written  some  time  ago,  and  the  past  season  shows 
an  aggregate  shipment  of  over  700,000  tons  of  iron  ore. 

Mr.  Peck  :  Mr.  President— As  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
OB  Resolutions,  I  beg  leave  to  report  that  the  Committee  deem  it 
inexpedient  to  report  any  Rules,  Regulations,  or  Order  of  Business- 

They  instruct  me  to  submit  Resolutions,  which  I  will  now  pro- 
ceed to  read  : 

REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

Resolved,  That  Railroads  through  the  Northern  Peninsula  of  the 
State  of  Michigan  to  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  and  thence  by 
direct  connection  with  the  East  and  North,  are  demanded  by  the 
interest,  not  only  of  Michigan,  but  of  the  whole  country,  and  that  such 
roads  developing  mining,  lumbering,  manufacturing,  commercial,  and 
agricultural  interests  of  the  first  importance,  will  necessarily  have  the 
i  licet  to  transmute  five  hundred  miles  of  wilderness  into  one  of  the 
most  productive  and  richest  sections  of  the  Union. 

Resolved,  That  such  roads  are  necessary  in  justice  to  Michigan  as  a 
bond  of  Union  between  its  two  Peninsulas,  and  to  continue  by  a  prac- 
tical and  the  shortest  route  towards  the  Atlantic,  that  future  great 


44  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 


continental  highway,  of  which  the  Northern  Pacific  Road  will  form  a 
part,  and  that  in  the  judgment  of  this  Convention  it  is  the  imparativc 
duty  of  Congress  to  extend  the  land  grants  now  held  by  the  Jackson, 
Lansing  &  Saginaw,  and  the  Grand  Rapids  and  Indiana  Railroad  Com- 
panies, to  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  relieving  these  Companies  of  the 
requirement  to  terminate  upon  Little  Traverse  Bay,  and  also  to  make 
such  liberal  grants  of  land,  money  or  credit,  as  shall  secure  the  speedy 
construction  of  the  road  from  the  present  Eastern  terminus  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Road  to  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw 

Resolved,  That  the  Convention  deems  it  the  true  policy  of  the  coun- 
try to  extend  to  such  projects,  as  those  of  Railroads  from  Mackinaw  to 
Puget  Sound,  and  upon  the  line  of  the  proposed  Southern  Pacific  Road, 
such  aid  as  will  secure  their  speedy  construction,  and  that  we  may  cite 
the  prosperity  of  such  States  and  Districts  as  have  been  liberal  in  aid- 
ing great  public  works,  as  a  perpetual  argument  to  show  the  safety 
and  wisdom  of  such  a  policy.  ♦ 

Resolved,  That  there  be  appointed  by  this  Convention  a  committee  of 
seven  persons  whose  duty  it  shall  be,  by  petitions  to  Congress,  by  ex- 
plorations and  by  such  continued  public  agitation  of  the  subject,  as 
may  be  necessary,  to  use  all  ligitimate  efforts  to  secure  the  necessary 
legislation  and  investments  of  capital,  and  that  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
such  committee  to  appeal  to  the  people  and  corporations  more  imme- 
diately interested  for  the  means  to  defray  the  expense  of  such  efforts. 

Resolved,  That  while  the  said  roads  of  Michigan  and  the  Northwest, 
as  pioneers  in  the  developement  of  our  own  and  neighboring  State,  (as 
far  as  their  system  is  completed)  are  entitled  to  our  highest  considera- 
tion, and  demand  the  warmest  encouragement  and  sopport,  from  this 
Convention,  and  the  people  we  represent ;  we  do  more  especially  and 
earnestly  call  upon  Congress,  to  extend  Government  aid,  in  such  effi- 
cient form  as  it  may  deem  best,  to  secure  the  construction  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  to  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  as  the  most  im- 
portant of  all  our  Railroad  interests. 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  appointed  by  this  Convention,  under 
the  foregoing  resolutions,  be  and  they  are  hereby  instructed,  to  insti- 
tute inquiry  into  the  condition,  prospects,  and  purposes  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railroad  Company,  as  at  present  organized,  and  if  it  shall 
satisfactorily  appear,  that  the  grant  made  to  that  Company,  for  the 
construction  of  its  road,  is  likely  to  lapse  or  become  forfeited  ;  or  such 
construction  to  be  unreasonably  delayed, — they  are  hereby  instructed 
to  bring  the  subject  before  Congress,  and  to  urge  its  immediate  action 
to  compel  or  secure,  the  immediate  commencement  of  the  work  in  good 
faith  ;  and  its  completion  at  the  earliest  practicable  period. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretaries  of  this  Convention  furnish  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  to  the  members  of  his  Cabinet,  cer- 
tified copies  of  these  resolutions,  and  printed  copies  of  the  proceedings 
of  this  Convention  ;  and  when  Congress  meets,  furnish  the  President 
of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Chair- 
men of  the  several  Rail  Road  Committees;  and  of  the  Committees  of 
Ways  and  Means,  and  Finance,  respectively,  with  like  copies  of  these 
resolutions  and  proceedings. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  was  accepted,  and 
a  motion  made  and  carried,  that  the  Convention  proceed  to  consid" 
er  the  resolutions  separately  and  seriatim. 

The  first  resolution  being  then  under  consideration,  Mr.  Luther 
Beecher,  of  Detroit,  addressed  the  Convention  at  some  length,  and 
offered  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions : 


KAILROAD    CONTENTION.  45 


WiiEitEAs,  Large  amounts  of  Government  Land,  in  the  States  of 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin  have  tor  many  years  been  in  market,  unsold 
and  (unpopulated  to  the  great  damage  and  detriment  of  large  portions 
of  both  States ;  and 

Whereas,  Said  Lands  cannot  be  sold  or  occupied,  even  at  the  low- 
est graduation  price  of  one  shilling  per  acre,  untiJ  water  or  Railway 
transit  lines  shall  be  constructed  so  as  to  pass  through  or  near  them  ;  and 

Whereas,  These  results  cannot  be  otherwise  so  song  as  this  state 
of  things  remains  unchanged,  by  coming  possibility  prove  advantageous 
to  the  nation  ;  and 

Whereas,  The  early  extension  of  the  Great  Northern  Pacific  Rail" 
road  from  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  Eastward,  through  the  States  o* 
Wisconsin  and  Michigan  is  of  vastly  more  importance  to  both  States 
and  of  the  whole  Nation  than  any  possible  values  of  said  lands;  There- 
fore it  is 

Resolved,  That  it  is  for  the  National  interest  to  surrender  all  of  the 
unsold  lands  in  each  of  said  States  to  their  respective  Governors  in 
trust  the  whole  proceeds  thereof  to  be  expended  in  construction  of  such 
Trunk  lines  of  Transit  and  such  branches  as  shall  best  accomplish  the 
ten  fold  purpose  of  selling  and  populating  their  land  and  aid  in  con- 
struction of  Railway  and  Water  Transit  lines,  demanded  by  the  vast 
growth  of  the  grea^  Northwestern  Suites. 

Resolved,  That  said  lands  ought  to  be  appraised  and  graded  in  value 
and  all  of  them  subject  to  sale  for  Cash  or  "Land  Scrip",  Freight,  Tran- 
sit, Bonds,  Stock,  or  other  evidences  of  value  used  in  construction  of 
said  Trunk  lines  or  Branches,  and  that  the  "Legislation"  necessary  for 
this  purpose  should  be  prompt  and  of  the  most  liberal  character. 

Resolved,  That  as  an  offset  for  such  surrender,  of  what  is  of  no  prac" 
tical  value  to  the  General  Government,  but  may  be  made  of  much 
value  to  the  said  States  and  of  the  Nation — in  the  manner  proposed. — 
Said  States  can  well  afford  to  surrender,  and  forever  relinquish,  any 
and  all  unsettled  war  claims  for  bounties  or  other  aid  furnished  by 
counties,  town,  cities  or  individuals — supposed  to  amount  to  about 
3  or  $4,000,000  in  each  State,  while  the  lands,  say  9,000,000  of  acres  in 
Wisconsin  and  10,000,000  of  acres  in  Michigan  would  only  amount  to 
about  $  3,000,000  at  graduation  value. 

On  motion,  the  preamble  and  resolutions  of  Mr,  Beecher  were 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Hon.  Eugene  Pringle,  of  Jackson,  was  called  upon,  and  discussed 
at  length  the  resolution  under  consideration  and  the  objects  of  the 
Convention. 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Pringle's  speech,  the  Convention  adjourned 
until  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

AFTERNOON    SESSION. 

At  two  o'clock  P.  M.,  pursuant  to  adjournment,  the  Convention 
was  called  to  order  by  the  President. 

Hon.  O.  M.  Barnes,  of  Mason,  and  Dr.  H.  C.  [Potter,  of  East 
Saginaw,  were  severally  called  for,  and  addressed  the  Convention, 


46  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 

illustrating  their  remarks  by  reference  to  a  large  map,  produced 
by  Mr.  Barnes,  showing  the  location,  etc.,  of  the  land  grants  made 
to  the  Michigan  Railroads. 

The  question  was  then  taken  upon  the  first  resolution  of  the 
Committee,  and  the  same  was  adopted. 

The  second  resolution  being  again  read,  Mr.  J.  A.  Hubbell,  of 
Houghton,  made  a  speech  in  its  favor,  after  which  the  resolution 
was  adopted. 

The  third  resolution  was  then  read,  and  was  supported  in  a 
speech  of  some  length  by  Hon.  George  W.  Peck.  The  resolution 
was  then  adopted. 

The  fourth  resolution  was  then  adopted. 

On  the  fifth  resolution  being  read,  Mr.  Emmons  moved  to  amend 
the  resolution  by  striking  out  the  words  u  to  secure  the  construc- 
"  tion  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  to  the  Straits  of  Macki- 
"  naw,"  and  insert,  in  lieu  thereof,  the  words  "  to  extend  the  route 
"  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  to  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,"  and 
advocated  his  proposed  amendment  in  remarks  at  some  extent. 

The  amendment  was  opposed  by  Messrs.  Peck,  Driggs  and  Prin- 
gle,  and  was  withdrawn  by  the  mo  ^er. 

Mr.  Emmons  asked  Jthe  indulgence  of  the  Convention  while  he 
offered  a  personal  explanation  ;  and  proceeded  to  make_  some  re- 
marks in  reference  to  his  address  to  the  Convention  on  the  previous 
evening,  elucidating  more  clearly  the  position  he  occupied. 

The  fifth  resolution  was  then  adopted. 

The  sixth  and  seventh  resolutions  were  severally  adopted. 

The  President  :  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  by  the  resolu- 
tions you  have  passed,  you  have  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a 
Committee  of  Seven.  The  resolution  does  not  specify  how  that 
Committee  shall  be  appointed.  I  suppose,  under  ordinary  Parlia- 
mentary rules,  the  Chair  should  appoint  that  Committee,  but  I 
decline  to. exercise  that  power.  I  think  the  Convention  will  see 
the  impropriety  of  the  exercise  of  that  power  by  myself. 

All  local  jealousies  and  [feeling  and  controversy  have  been  kept 
out  of  this  Convention  ;  and  there  are  points  along  the  line  of  this 
road  that  have  their  own  local  interests,  which  it  is  proper  for 
them  to  look  after.     I  reside  at  one  of  those  points  ;  and  it  might 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION.  47 


be  claimed  that  I  exercised  the  power  which  I  would  thus  exercise 
to  favor  the  ends  of  my  own  particular  locality.  I  therefore  insist 
that  the  Convention  adopt  some  means  by  which  that  Committee 
shall  be  appointed. 

Mr.  Emmons  moved  that  hg  be  'referred  to  the  Committee  on 
resolutions. 

Mr.  Peck  moved  as  a  substitute,  that  the  Chair  appointja  [Com- 
mittee of  Five,  to  recommend  the  names  of  persons  to  the  Con- 
vention, for  appointment  as  a  Committee  required  under  the  reso- 
lution. 

The  substitute  was  adopted,  and  the  Chair  appointed  as  such 
Committee:  C.  K.  Eobinson,  of  East  Saginaw;  C.  C.  Fitahugh, 
of  Bay  City;  H.  A,  Rust,  of  Marquette;  W.  H.  Craig,  cf  De- 
troit and  W.  S.  Green,  of  Saginaw. 

While  awaiting  the  report  of  this  Committee,  the  following  ad- 
ditional letters  o^  the  objects  of  the  meeting,  were  read  to  the 
Convention  : 

LETTER  FROM  ALFRED  MEAD. 

Ontonagon,  Mien.,  Nov.  13,  1869. 

Hon.  John  F.  DRroos, 

dear  sir  : 

Your  circular  letter  calling  a  Railroad  Convention  at  Saginaw, 
on  the  23d  inst.,  has  just  reached  me,  and  I  at  once  send  you  a 
few  lines  to  wish  you  and  your  friends  God  speed.  It  will  be  al- 
most impossible  for  any  one  to  attend  from  our  county,  (for  you 
know  we  have  no  means  of  getting  out  and  in  the  country  at  this 
time  of  the  year),  much  as  I  wish  that  some  of  us  would,  had  it 
been  earlier  or  later,  I  would  cheerfully  have  come  myself,  for 
you  know  I  feel  that  a  Railroad  connecting  us  with  the  outer 
world  is  our  only  hope  of  relief  from  our  present  depressed  con- 
dition. 

But  as  we  cannot  attend,  we  shall  feel  confident  that  you,  dear 
sir,  will  represent  us  and  our  views  and  watch  our  interests.  Say 
to  the  gentlemen  of  that  Convention  that  the  people  of  Ontonagon 
will  do  all  in  their  power  to  aid  in  the  object  of  the  Convention. 
We  want  a  Railroad  and  will  extend  our  aid  to  the  first  parties 
that  approach  us  with  any  reasonable  plan  that  will  guarantee  us 
the  object,  whether  from  the  East,  Michigan  or  Chicago.  Of  our 
situation  and  resources  I  need  say  but  little,  with  them  you  are 
acquainted,  also  the  attempts  of  Railroad  Cos.  to  connect  heretofore 
with  us,  but  allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to  one  or  two  points. 
You  are  aware  that  the  grant  to  the  Ontonagon  &  Marquette  Rail- 
road Co.  has  been  declared  forfeited  by  the  Legislature,  this  grant 


4H  NORTHERS    PACIFIC, 

is  now  open  for  other  parties  to  take  hold  ofr  it  is  a  grant  from 
the  U,  S.  of  ten  Sections  per  mile,  butt  twenty  miles  of  that  road 
has  been  built,  and  we  venture  to  say,  whoever  will  fill  the  gap 
between  here  and  the  road  at  these  Iron  Mines  will  reap  large  re- 
wards. By  the  act  of  the  .Legislature  any  corporation  upon  whom 
this  grant  is  conferredT  are  required  to  build  fifteen  miles  of  this 
end  of  the  roadr  commencing  at  Ontonagon  Village.  To  aid  in 
the  construction  of  the  fifteen  miles,  this  county  as  particularly  in- 
terested, and  we  will  lend  our  aid.  To  any  corporation  that  will 
do  it  we  will  confer  a  State  Swamp  Land  grant  of  two  Sections 
per  mile,  the  scrip  is  worth  now,  I  believe,  about  80  or  85  cents 
on  the  dollar,  and  is  easily  convertible  into  cash.  From  the  best 
information  we  can  obtain,  the  two  Sections  of  Scrip  will  build 
the  Road  bed  ready  for  the  Iron?  in  fact,  parties  here  (of  no  ex- 
perience in  road  building)  have  offered  to  take  the  first  ten  miles, 
and  get  it  ready  for  the  iron,  for  the  two  Sections  of  Swamp  Land. 
As  to  the  location  of  Ontonagon  I  am  not  the  only  one  that 
thinks  that  it  would  be  a  favorable  point  for  the  commencement  of 
the  Northern  Pacific.  But  I  claim  that  road  can  have  no  terminus 
till  it  is  connected  with  the  rail  road  system  of  Michigan, 
and  its  most  natural  route,  as  through  the  JJpper  Peninsula7 
whether  it  will  make  connections  at  the  Sault  St.  Marie  or  Macki- 
naw, it  is  for  the  people  of  Michigan  to  decide.  The  indications 
are  that  Old  and  New  England  Capital  will  make  a  desperate 
effort  to  cross  at  the  Sault  St.  Marie,  and  the  route  has  undoubt- 
edly great  advantages,  but  we  shall  see  to  it  that  it  crosses  our 
own  territory.  Hoping  that  the  Convention  may  be  well  attended 
and  its  deliberations  result  in  an  effort  to  give  us  road  out  of  the 
country.     I  am  Sir,  Yours  very  respectfully, 

ALFRED  MEAD. 


LETTER    FROM    HIRAM    WALKER. 

To  James  L.  Ket( ham,  Mayor  of  East  Saginaw,  and  others. 

Messrs  :  I  am  in  the  receipt  of  your  circular  inviting  the  friends 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  its  connections  now  made 
nnd  to  be  made  to  form  the  shortest  and  most  feasible  route 
from  Puget  Sound,  on  the  Pacific,  to  Portland,  in  Maine,  on  the 
Atlantic,  to  attend  a  Railroad  Convention  in  your  city  on  the  23d 
hist.,  which  I  am  unable  to  attend. 

No  one  at  all  informed  on  the  u  advance  of  Empire  West''  doubts 
the  importance  of  these  connecting  lines  of  railroads,  connecting 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  States,  and  whoever  lives  twenty  years 
will  see  all  these  lines  in  operation.  Who  can  tell  the  vast  com- 
mercial interests  that  will  flow  through  these  channels  ?  The  Erie 
canal  made  the  city  of  New  York  the  metropolis  of  America,  and 
these  Pacific  Railroads  will  make  these  United  States  the  business 
center  of  the  world.     This  is  no  myth. 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION.  49 

The  first  railroad  in  the  United  States,  of  any  note,  was  the  Al- 
bany and  Schenectady,  which  was  completed  in  August,  1832;  and 
the  first  line  of  telegraph  in  May,  1840,  between  Baltimore  and 
Washington.  And  now  what  a  network  of  railroads  and  telegraph 
lines  do  these  States  present.  Computation  would  almost  fail  to 
show  their  cost  of  construction,  much  less  to  show  the  advance  in 
value  of  real  estate  caused  by  their  construction.  San  Francisco  is 
nearer  Boston,  in  point  of  time,  than  was  the  Valley  of  the  Hudson 
one  hundred  years  ago.  If  so  much  has  been  done  in  thirty-seven 
years,  when  large  sums  have  been  lost  in  experimenting,  what  grand 
results  may  be  looked  for  in  1900. 

Xerxes  threw  golden  fetters  into  the  sea  to  restrain  the  billows, 
in  his  anguish  of  defeat ;  but  American  skill  and  genius,  with  in- 
domitable perseverance,  has  tunneled  mountains,  spanned  mighty 
rivers,  and  strode  triumphantly  over  the  snow-clad  Alps  of  Amer- 
ica with  the  iron  horse,  which  needed  no  rest  from  Plymouth  Rock 
to  the  "Golden  Gate."  If  such  things  are  done  in  the  "dry  tree," 
what  may  we  expect  from  the  "green  tree  ?" 

"The  wealth  of  Indies"  will  flow  through  these  channels,  aside  from 
pecuniary  gain,  ^hey  will  prove  powerful  agents  of  civilization  by 
extending  a  knowledge  of  our  free  institutions.  It  will  aid  the 
missionary  in  the  cause  of  evangelizing  the  world,  and  promote  the 
cause  of  peace  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Europe  can  reach 
China  and  Japan  quicker  and  cheaper  than  by  any  other  route, 
These  roads  will  cement  the  interests  of  the  different  sections  of  this 
Union  into  one  mighty  Empire,  and  give  us  prestige  among  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth  ;  so  that  rock-bound  New  England,  with  its  busy 
wheels  and  spindles,  the  rich  alluvial  soil  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  the  golden  Pacific  slope,  may  have  a  common  interest 
in  keeping  this  Government  intact  through  ages  to  come. 

Another  consideration  which  should  exert  a  powerful  influence 
in  favor  of  constructing  this  "Trans-Continental  Railroad"  is  the 
fact  that  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  which  is  to  be  the  great 
granary  of  the  world,  needs  a  cheaper  and  more  ample  outlet  to  the 
sea-board  for  her  surplus  products,  and  these  products  are  increas- 
ing faster  than  the  avenues  of  transportation  are.  So  long  as  the 
producers  can  get  a  remunerative  price  for  their  products,  so  long 
they  will  patronize  the  mechanical  interests  of  New  England  ;  but 
when  they  are  compelled  to  retain  them,  for  want  of  a  ready  outlet 
of  their  surplus  products,  at  a  fair  home  valuation,  there  will  be  a 
hegira  of  the  wheels  and  spindles  to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  which, 
like  the  "ten  lost  tribes,"  will  never  return. 

There  are  two  routes  proposed  by  which  to  reach  Lake  Ontario 
from  Portland.  One  is  to  strike  Lake  Champlain  through  North- 
ern New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  near  Rouse's  Point ;  thence  by 
Ogdensburg  to  Oswego  or  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  Another  is  to  cross 
Connecticut  river  near  Woodstock,  Vt.,  thence  to  Rutland,  Vt., 
and  Whitehall,  N.  Y.,  at  the  head  of  Lake    Champlain,  thence  to 


50  NORTHERN    PACIFIC 

Saratoga,  to  escape  the  spurs  of  the  Adirondacks,  thence  westerly, 
north  of  the  Central,  to  the  Valley  of  Salmon  river,  thence  to 
Oswego.  The  remainder  of  the  route  to  St.  Paul  was  too  well  de- 
lineated at  the  late  Convention  at  Oswego  to  need  repeating  here. 
Wishing  you  harmony  and  important  action  in  your*  Convention 
about  to  meet,  and  that  agitation  will  not  cease  until  permanent 
measures  are  adopted  for  the  construction  of  this  important  line  of 
intercommunication, 

I  remain,  gentleman, 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

HIRAM  WALKER. 
P.  S.     Please  send  me  an  account  of  your  Convention. 

Mexico,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  16,  1869. 


letter  from  wm.  a.  thompson. 

Queens  Hotel,  Toronto,  Nov.  22, 1869. 

John  F.  Driggs,  Esq., 

East  Saginaw. 

My  Dear  Sir  : — I  should  certainly  have  responded  to  the  invi- 
tation, and  attended  your  Convention,  but  that  I  am  tied  down 
here  by  duties  of  the  greatest  importance,  and  which  will  hold  me 
here  for  a  fortnight  When  we  get  the  Niagara,  Detroit  &  St. 
Clair  reiver  Railway  fairly  floated,  you  will  find  me  ready  to  res- 
pond to  you,  every  effort  of  making  a  Great  Through  Line  to  the 
Northern  Pacific  via  Saginaw. 

I  am,  my  dear  sir,  yours  very  truly, 

WM.  A.  THOMSON. 

You  notice  we  are  changing  the  name  of  our  Railway. 


Mr.  Robinson,  from  the  Committee  on  nominations,  reported 
the  names  of  the  following  gentlemen,  to  compose  the  Committee 
of  Seven,  to  be  appointed  under  the  provisions  of  the  fourth  reso- 
lution, viz  : 

STANDING  COMMITTEE  OF  SEVEN. 

John  F.  Driggs,  of  East  Saginaw. 
John  Rust,  of  Detroit. 
Artemas  Thayek,  of  Flint. 
H.  M.  Fitzhugh,  of  Bay  City. 
John  Moore,  of  Saginaw  City. 
J.  A.  Hubbell,  of  Houghton. 
S.  P.  Ely,  of  Marquette. 
On  motion,  the  report  was  accepted,  and  the  nominations  of  the 
Committee,  as  above,  ratified. 


RAILROAD    CONVENTION. 


51 


Mr.  Driggs  regreted  to  be  obliged  positively  to  decline  acting 
as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  ;  and  Mr.  Moore  also  asked  to  be 
excused  from  serving  as  a  member ;  but  the  Convention  refused  to 
make  any  change  in  the  constitution  of  the  Committee  as  reported. 

On  motion,  the  members  of  the  Committee  were  authorized  to 
appoint  substitutes,  in  case  any  of  them  should  be  unable  to  attend 
to  the  business  assigned  them. 

On  motion  of  Hon.  George  W.  Peck,  the  Secretaries  were  in- 
structed to  have  not  less  than  one  thousand  copies  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Convention  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  for  distribution. 

The  thanks  of  the  Convention  were  voted  to  the  President, 
Vice-Presidents  and  Secretaries,  for  the  faithful  performance  of 
their  duties ;  to  the  Reporters  of  the  Press,  for  their  full  and 
impartial  reports  of  the  proceedings;  to  Capt.  Kirby  and  Messrs. 
E.  G.  Godard  and  W.  H.  Herbert  for  furnishing  the  large  and 
complete  map  used  by  the  Convention  ;  and  to  Mr.  W.  J.  Bartow, 
for  the  use  of  Irving  Hall. 

The  President,  in  a  few  remarks,  thanked  the  Convention  for 
the  very  harmonious  manner  in  which  they  had  conducted  their 
business,  and  wished  them  success  in  the  great  undertaking  they 
had  inaugurated. 

On  motion,  the  Convention  adjourned  sine  die, 

John  Moore,  President. 

John  McLaren, 
Josiah  W.  Begole, 
John  Burt, 
Ransom  Sheldon, 
Horace  S.  Ismon, 
B.  0.  Williams, 
Marcus  H.  Miles, 
Luther  Westover, 
B.  W.  Huston, 


►  Vice  Presidents. 


William  Phelps, 
F.  H.  Rankin, 
Michael  Jeffers, 


Secretaries. 


APPENDIX. 


Actual  Products  of  Iron  Ore  and  Pig  Metal  in  the 
Marquette  District. 


From  the  Saginaw  Daily  Enterprise,  of  December  1st,  1869. 

East  Saginaw,  Nov.  30,  1869. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Enterprise. 

Sir  : — I  send  you  for  publication  a  letter  just  received  from 
Hiram  A.  Burt,  Esq.,  Collector  of  Customs,  at  Marquette,  Lake 
Superior.  It  will  be  seen  that  his  statement  of  the  yield  of  iron 
in  the  Lake  Superior  region  during  the  present  year,  1869,  makes 
the  same  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  tons  more  than  given  in 
your  table  of  figures  in  the  paper  read  to  the  Convention.  It  was 
my  purpose  in  the  paper  referred  to  (and  which  was  prepared  with- 
out much  time)  to  be  as  accurate  as  possible,  and  where  my  figures 
were  not  made  up  from  actual  returns,  to  place  them  below  rather 
than  above  what  subsequent  facts  might  prove  to  be  correct.  Be- 
fore placing  the  product  of  iron  at  600,000  tons.  I  inquired  of 
Mr.  S.  P.  Ely,  of  Marquette,  as  to  the  amount  for  1869,  and  ho 
informed  me  that  while  he  did  not  yet  know  the  exact  amount,  I 
would  certainly  be  safe  in  placing  it  at  600,000  tons. 

It  now  appears  from  Mr.  Burt's  statement,  which  is  doubtless 
correct,  that  the  yield  is  696,030  tons,  valued  at  $  5,185,398, 
being  in  excess  over  the  value  as  fixed  by  my  figures,  $  935,398. 
I  hardly  think  it  possible  that  my  calculations  as  to  lumber  and 
other  products,  will  be  found  so  much  a  varience  with  the  facts, 
as  they  are  based  upon  returns  of  former  years.  But  I  am  confi- 
dent, if  not  strictly  correct,  they  will  prove  to.be  below  instead  of 
above  the  mark.  The  larger  yield  of  iron,  it  will  be  seen,  makes 
the  product  of  Northern  Michigan  over  $  40,000,000. 

J.  F.  DKIGGS. 


54  APPENDIX. 


LETTER  FROM  H.  A.  BURT. 

Hon.  John  F.  Driggs,  East  Saginaw. 

Dear  Sir  : — I  notice,  on  reading  the  published  report  of  your 
able  paper,  read  before  the  late  Railroad  Convention  in  your  city, 
that  you  so  much  under-estimate  the  present  year's  production  of 
iron  ore  and  pig  metal  in  the  Marquette  Iron  District,  that  I  desire 
to  give  you  the  actual  figures  up  to  Nov.  15th. 

The  actual  product  of  Iron  Ore  is 629  489  gross  tons. 

Estimated  product  balance  of  year   30  000  ♦' 

Total  product  Ore 657  487  gross  ton«. 

Pig  Metal  to  Nov.  15th, 35  543  gross  tons. 

Estimated  product  balance  of  year    3  000  "  38  543  " 

Total  of  Ora  and  Pig  Metal 696  030  " 

Value $5  185  398 

Increased  production  over  1869 149  971 

value  "  $1182  985 

With  regard  to  future  production,  I  know  of  blast  furnaces 
enough  now  building  to  increase  the  demand  for  ore  next  year 
fully  150,000  tons,  thus  realizing,  in  1870,  your  prophecy  as  to 
what  must  take  place  upon  the  construction  of  the  Northean  Pa- 
cific Eailroad;  800,000  tons  in  1870,  and  1,000,000  in  1872.  are 
my  prediction  of  the  requirement  from  the  Lake  Superior  Iron 
Mines  in  those  years.  What  would  be  the  resnlt  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  is  beyond  calculation. 

Yours,  Respectfully, 

HIRAM  A.  BURT. 


EDWARD  W.  NOLAN 

1ECT\P^, 


3     81  0  o^J 


